Ahead of their Week 7 Sunday Night Football matchup against the New York Jets, the Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves the center of attention due to a potential change at quarterback.
Despite leading the Steelers to the 32-13 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on the road in Week 6, rushing for two touchdowns, Justin Fields might be heading back to his backup role behind veteran Russell Wilson, who is fully healthy and is in line to make his first start of the season.
That potential change, which head coach Mike Tomlin stated is in consideration this week, has generated quite a bit of conversation and some controversy on the outside of the facility. Inside? Well, it’s not that big of a deal for the players.
For star defensive lineman and team captain Cameron Heyward, who appeared on the latest episode of his podcast “Not Just Football with Cam Heyward” it doesn’t matter who is out there at quarterback because the team believes it can win with both.
“Well, I just heard about it not too long ago. I don’t know, no one said anything to us, but we ride with both quarterbacks. We think both of them can have success. It’s not a shot at either,” Heyward said of Wilson and Fields and a possible change at QB, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “I think when you look at these two, these guys were in here to win and they’re doing that. I don’t know what’s going on. I’m not gonna try to predict or be in somebody’s mind of what they think. But, as a player on this team, I’ll make sure that both guys are supported and I’ll make sure that we give each of these quarterbacks a chance to win each of these games.
“That’s only right. No matter who’s in there, we got a chance. So, we’ll see what happens on Sunday. But Russ and Justin, we’re gonna support.”
Considering the type of leader and person that Heyward is, none of that is a surprise regarding what he said about both quarterbacks. It doesn’t come off as lip service, either. It feels like that’s the way the whole team is viewing it.
Linebacker Patrick Queen stated earlier in the week on The Rich Eisen Show that a QB change wasn’t going to do much of anything to the locker room because of the players’ belief in both and the relationship that Wilson and Fields have with each other.
Heyward is largely echoing that.
The Steelers feel good about their quarterback situation, and the players believe in it, too. That’s important. Potentially turning to a future Hall of Famer at quarterback like Wilson is comforting for many of the veterans, too, who know first-hand what type of talent Wilson is.
There’s also the belief in Fields for what he’s done the first six games of the season and how he’s taken care of the ball, utilized his legs and done what was asked of him.
It’ll be interesting to see what Tomlin decides to do at quarterback. It seems more likely that the Steelers will turn to Wilson and have some designed touches for Fields against the Jets, giving Tomlin and the Steelers a chance to see a guy in Wilson they named the starter coming into the season before he aggravated his calf injury.
No matter who is out there though, Heyward made it clear: the Steelers ride with both guys.
Check out the full episode of the “Not Just Football with Cam Heyward” podcast below.
