If the Pittsburgh Steelers have a quarterback “controversy,” that is news to Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. While they don’t control who the Steelers start, they do control how they respond. And according to Cameron Heyward, they have handled the situation in a positive way for the team.
“Between Russ [Wilson] and Justin [Fields], they’ve always supported each other.” Heyward said earlier this week on his Not Just Football podcast. He added that a lot of times “media and people outside the locker room have pitted these guys against each other. They’ve been very supporting of each other, and they’ve made the team the team. That’s all that’s mattered, and I’m appreciative of it. It doesn’t bring any extra drama. They just come in for business and they both come in ready to perform.”
The Steelers signed Russell Wilson as a free agent in March, later trading for Justin Fields, the former first-round pick. While they paid brief lip service to a quarterback competition, Mike Tomlin named Wilson the starter after limited action.
That was due to a calf injury Wilson suffered at the start of training camp. He slowly ramped up into action but was only just rounding into form for the final preseason game. Wilson played just one drive in that game and Fields didn’t play much more, a clear indication of their intentions.
But Russell Wilson suffered a setback with his calf leading up to the start of the regular season, prompting Justin Fields to enter the starting lineup. Throughout that entire time, Tomlin declined to name him a starter no matter how well he played. Wilson dressed as the emergency quarterback for five weeks, finally backing up Fields in Week 6.
But the Steelers finally started Wilson in Week 7, and Fields remained on the bench, not even seeing action in a sub-package. He got off to a slow start, but ultimately set a Steelers record for passing yards in a debut. While Wilson had some rust to knock off, Heyward praised his overall performance.
“I thought [Russell Wilson] played very good,” he said. “Russ found a lot of people. Obviously George [Pickens] had a big game for us. Found Darnell Washington, found Pat Freiermuth, found Van Jefferson, found Calvin Austin [III]. There were a lot of people who contributed, and Russ did a great job of getting the ball out to everybody.”
Wilson went 16-of-29 for 264 yards with 2 touchdown passes, rushing for another. Pickens caught 5 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown. The tight ends, Freiermuth and Washington, combined for 6 catches for 87 yards, while Austin added a 36-yard catch. Jefferson only caught 2 passes for 15 yards but one was a touchdown.
In his six games, Justin Fields went 106-of-160 passing for 1,106 yards, throwing for 5 touchdowns with an interception. He rushed for 231 yards and 5 touchdowns but fumbled a league-high 6 times. Ultimately, the Steelers felt they could get more out of the offense with Wilson under center.
But because of how Russell Wilson and Justin Fields have handled the quarterback dynamics, it has been easy for the Steelers’ locker room to navigate that uncertainty it brought. They might be nearing the light at the end of the tunnel, though, and that speaks to the leadership throughout.
