It doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to put together the clues that Russell Wilson will be the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starting quarterback Sunday night against the New York Jets. Sharing his thoughts Wednesday, ESPN insider Adam Schefter believes Wilson will get the nod over QB Justin Fields and make his Steelers debut.
“If you follow the breadcrumbs and you make sense of them, I think this is trending towards Russell Wilson starting on Sunday night against the New York Jets and Davante Adams,” Schefter said Wednesday on NFL Live. “And I say that because yesterday Mike Tomlin himself opened up to the idea that he’s considering starting Russell Wilson. Russell Wilson is taking some of the first-team reps today. And I don’t think you say you’re considering somebody, you have him take first-team reps, you do all that publicly and then go back to the guy that’s been starting.”
It’s hard to argue with anything Schefter is saying. While Tomlin isn’t explicitly naming a starter, it would be an upset if Fields makes it another week in the starting lineup. Even if he does, putting him in a position to start without full first-team reps isn’t setting him up for success and could lead to a quick hook that would put Wilson on the field midway through the game.
Assuming Wilson gets the nod, it’s doubtful to be a one-week trial run. Projecting his job security is difficult without seeing him play or the results, but he’d likely be in the lineup for multiple games before Tomlin even considered reverting back. Pittsburgh’s Week 9 bye might seem like a good point to revisit things, but the Steelers haven’t always made changes then. They didn’t bench QB Kenny Pickett or even fire OC Matt Canada during their bye last season despite having cause for both. In 2022, they benched QB Mitch Trubisky midway through Week 4 instead of waiting.
Why not name Wilson the starter now? It could be for competitive reasons, keeping the Jets guessing even as they’re preparing for either player. Schefter believes Tomlin wants to avoid a repeat of Week 1 when Wilson suffered a calf injury three days before the opener.
“I think Mike Tomlin probably wants to see how Russell makes it through the week physically before he makes any declarations,” he said. “He wants to make sure there are no setbacks with the calf injury.”
Even as some inside the Steelers’ building reportedly disagree with Tomlin’s direction, his vote is the only one that counts. Wilson will have to show he’s knocked off enough rust to face a talented New York Jets defense that ranks second in yards-per-game allowed, tied-third in sacks, fifth in opposing completion percentage, and seventh in points allowed.
