Count Ryan Clark as the latest outsider to believe Mike Tomlin is making the wrong move by starting QB Russell Wilson this weekend against the New York Jets after Justin Fields helped lead Pittsburgh to a 4-2 start. While Clark noted the respect and usually lock-step viewpoint of Tomlin, he thinks this decision can only harm, not help.
“It’s the wrong decision to run back to Russell Wilson,” Clark said on Thursday’s edition of ESPN’s NFL Live. “And I don’t know why you have to run back so quickly to an uncertainty at the quarterback position if you’re Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers.”
It likely won’t be until tomorrow afternoon following practice that Tomlin officially declares his starter. But it’s the worst-kept secret in football. Wilson received first-team reps Thursday, spoke with reporters about Sunday being his first game, and Fields has already admitted he had a good run in his first six games.
Wilson’s depth chart status as QB1 never changed while his calf healed. Now healthy and with two weeks of full-time practice reps under his belt, Tomlin is going to give him the chance. Fields could still see situational plays to utilize his running ability, a real asset in the team’s four wins, but he’s likely to play less than 10 snaps in this game.
As others have opined, Ryan Clark thinks this move was inevitable.
“What this says to me, it was never Justin’s job to win. This was going to be Russell Wilson’s position no matter what happened over the first six games of this season.”
It’s hard to disagree. Barring Fields playing unbelievably good football and an undefeated record, Wilson getting his chance was going to be the outcome. It doesn’t help that Fields has struggled as a passer during the past few weeks. Perhaps it would’ve been a different calculation had he and the Steelers been where they were at the first three weeks. And it’s doubtful Tomlin would double-back any time soon, likely giving Wilson all the chances to keep the job and only changing when it’s the only choice left.
“Once you make this decision, you have to be dead set that it’s the correct decision,” Clark said. “Not only for Russell Wilson and the offense, but for the entire team to reach the potential that it can.”
When it comes to who should start at quarterback this weekend, it seems the vast majority are in favor of Justin Fields. But this is not direct democracy. This isn’t determined by poll or popular vote. The decider is one man, Mike Tomlin, and he’s made his choice.
