The Pittsburgh Steelers have lost two straight games and QB Russell Wilson is reportedly going to be ready to play in Week 6. While the Steelers started 3-0 with Justin Fields at quarterback, the team losing back-to-back games and struggling offensively has led NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero to believe that now is the right time for the team to turn to Wilson.
Guest hosting on The Rich Eisen Show on Monday, Pelissero said he thinks this “feels like the point” where the Steelers should start Wilson.
“I’m not saying it’s gonna happen, I’m not saying I know it’s gonna happen. You’ve lost two games in a row, you’re not scoring points, there were a couple throws in the game last night that Justin Fields would probably like to have back. Not terrible throws, but just off enough,” Pelissero said, also pointing out that the Steelers won the turnover battle. “That to me feels like if you were going to go to Russell Wilson, now would be the logical time. And you can frame it as this is not a quarterback change, this is not Justin Fields being benched, Russ has been ramping up for five weeks, he’s back to full health, we’re going with Russell Wilson.
“This feels like the lowest-leverage time. In other words, you are burning the least amount of capital right now in your locker room with the quarterbacks involved by saying, ‘Russ is finally healthy, we’re gonna give him the ball.'”
Fields hasn’t been bad the last two games, but the offense has just six total first half-points the last two weeks. Last night, two key drops, one by Van Jefferson and one by Connor Heyward, took away what would’ve been big plays in the passing game, but the fact of the matter is that the Steelers simply aren’t scoring points. Whether that would improve with Wilson is up for debate, but the Steelers won’t know until they try.
With the team sitting at 3-2 after back-to-back losses, Pelissero is right that it’s an easy time for Mike Tomlin to make a quarterback change. Wilson will be back to full strength, and he was named the starter before the season, so it’s not a demotion for Fields as much as it can be framed as Pittsburgh getting its starter back healthy.
If the Steelers wait to make a change, it’s going to get more difficult with both Fields and Wilson. If Wilson is going to be fully healthy next week and the team starts Fields, then he could wind up as the backup, whereas it’s then also more of a demotion for Fields if the change occurs after that point. Wilson is still listed as the starter on the depth chart, and with the Steelers’ offense needing a jolt, they can see if Wilson can provide it. If he can’t, they can always turn back to Fields, but if a change is going to come, it’s something that should happen this week.
We’ll likely get more clarity and maybe a decision on who will start in Week 6 from Mike Tomlin during his weekly press conference tomorrow. It’s going to be one of the biggest decisions he’ll have to make this season.
