If Ryan Clark had his pick, he’d take QB Justin Fields over Russell Wilson. Believing the Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback choice is clear, he outlined why the team should stick with the quarterback who started the 2024 season, not the one who ended it.
“I think they should resign Justin Fields and here’s why,” Clark said on ESPN’s NFL Live Friday. “I think you figure out, can he be the guy for the future? And if he bombs, at least you could go high in the draft and get you somebody good. Somebody that could play.”
At 36, Wilson is a finished product. If anything, a declining one. Fields has more untapped potential and showed growth in Pittsburgh that he didn’t exhibit in Chicago. Playing more within scheme and structure, he took better care of the football and managed the game. Partly because the team didn’t ask him to be the face of the franchise and hero he was as the Bears’ first-round pick.
Still, Clark’s plan isn’t perfectly sound. Even if Fields doesn’t progress, it’s far from guaranteed Pittsburgh will end up with a high draft pick because of it. The Steelers’ blessing and curse is their ability to win 8-10 games no matter the circumstances. This is a squad that went 8-8 in 2019 after losing Ben Roethlisberger for the season. A team that turned around an 0-4 start in 2013, 1-3 beginning in 2021, and turned a 2-6 mid-way mark in 2022 into a winning season. It’s not in their DNA to spiral, and Fields helped lead the Steelers to a 4-2 start in 2024, suggesting he won’t tank the team either.
Still, Clark thinks running it back with Wilson won’t move the needle in either direction.
“I don’t believe you bring Russell back to be ‘good enough’ again,” he said.
Though Fields may not turn into a long-term starter, a short-term deal for less money than Wilson would command is a smart hedge. Fields could keep starting and growing as the team keeps an eye towards the 2025 and 2026 draft for, if needed, a replacement. It’s something Art Rooney II has suggested himself.
No Steelers’ quarterback plan this year is the perfect answer. But largely, Clark’s thought is the best course Pittsburgh can take.
