Pittsburgh Steelers QBs Russell Wilson and Justin Fields are both set to be free agents after this season, and while the expectation is that the team will roll forward with Wilson, former NFL quarterback Cam Newton doesn’t think that’s the path it should take.
“No. But you bring back Justin Fields though, and you develop him the right way,” Newton said On ESPN’s First Take this morning. “Father Time ain’t on our side. He ain’t no spring chicken.”
Wilson recently turned 36, and Fields has a longer career ahead of him as he won’t turn 26 until March 5. But the Steelers turned to Wilson over Fields despite Fields leading the Steelers to a 4-2 record over his first six starts, and if the Steelers think that Wilson offers them a better chance to win over the next few seasons, he’s who the team is going to re-sign.
While bringing back both Wilson and Fields isn’t out of the realm of possibility, Fields could have a chance to be a starter elsewhere and command QB1 money on the open market. That would reduce the chances of Pittsburgh bringing both of them back in 2025 and beyond. The Steelers will likely have to choose one or the other, and all indications are that they’ll go to Wilson.
Newton’s stance is one that could wind up being popular among Steelers fans and analysts over the next few months. Wilson has shown signs of his age over the last three games and has turned the ball over three times over the last two games. If the Steelers re-sign Fields and make it clear that he’s the starter and develop him as such, it’ll be a different circumstance for him than it was this offseason where he was acquired to be the No. 2 behind Wilson. He got an opportunity to run with the ones in training camp due to Wilson’s calf injury and when he aggravated the injury, Fields did a good job leading the Steelers in the early part of the season.
But the plan was always for Wilson to start, and when he was healthy, he took over and hasn’t relinquished the job. Given that the Steelers already chose Wilson over Fields once, it wouldn’t be a surprise at all if they did so again this offseason, even though Fields might be a better long-term option. But the Steelers feel they’re contenders now, and that could lead to them choosing Wilson as their future starter if they feel he has more upside over the next three or four seasons.
