Another year, another quarterback dilemma. Even before QB Kenny Pickett’s ankle injury last year, there were rumors and discussions over whether the team should bench Pickett and try someone else at quarterback. To open the offense and avoid the 10-7 slugfests. But Mike Tomlin stood by Pickett until his injury, citing the team’s winning record as the reason to stay the course.
Fast forward to the present. Justin Fields has led the Steelers to a 4-2 record and tie for first place in the AFC North and, if the season ended today, the top AFC Wild Card seed. So why is Mike Tomlin considering – and seemingly likely – to switch to Russell Wilson?
“The people are different,” Tomlin said Tuesday via the team’s YouTube channel when asked the differences between 2023 and 2024. “It’s a different journey. I’m very cautious about drawing parallels between one year and another. The myriad of variables in our decision making in this game are such that it’s a fruitless endeavor. It’s never as simple as it seems, respectfully.”
Change hit the Steelers’ quarterback room hard in the offseason. Out the door went all three passers from last year with Pickett traded to the Philadelphia Eagles. The team flirted with bringing Mason Rudolph back but after signing Russell Wilson, that door shut, and Rudolph took a top backup spot in Tennessee. And Mitch Trubisky was released, returning to Buffalo as Josh Allen’s understudy. On top of the personnel, the coaches were turned over, Arthur Smith brought in as offensive coordinator and Tom Arth hired as quarterbacks coach.
Despite the turnover, the Steelers’ mantra has been the same. Winning is all that matters.
Last year, Mike Tomlin cited “football justice” as reason to keep Pickett in the lineup even coming off a miserable 13-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns, a game in which Pickett didn’t surpass 100 passing yards until the final play.
“There’s a such thing as football justice, man,” Tomlin said last November. “Those guys usually get what they’re looking for. And so that’s why I remain consistently optimistic about the trajectory of his growth and development.”
In the end, the only thing Pickett got was a trade out of town. That led the team to bring in Wilson and Justin Fields, the latter starting the first six weeks while Wilson rehabbed his calf injury. Now healthy, the Steelers are likely going to their original choice, Wilson, record be damned.
No matter the comparisons or circumstances, all that matters is choosing who is the best quarterback to help the Steelers win now. It seems Tomlin believes Wilson is that answer. Time will tell if he’s right.
