Stephen A. Smith and Dan Orlovsky have differing views of where the Pittsburgh Steelers should go to find their QB of next year. For Smith, staying in-house with Russell Wilson is on the table. For Orlovsky, take the Etch-a-Sketch and wipe it clean.
Debating the point on Thursday’s First Take, Smith offered grace for Wilson’s performance that contributed to the Steelers’ five-game losing streak.
“I don’t think they were as pleased with [Justin Fields] as they were with Russell,” Smith told the show. “I also think that Russell gets a reprieve to some degree because you recognize what a problem George Pickens was. Not to mention the fact that who’s your legitimate number two if you’re the Pittsburgh Steelers as well.”
Lack of weapons was a concern for Pittsburgh throughout the offseason and during the regular season. The Steelers found no one to replace Diontae Johnson after trading him to the Carolina Panthers in March of 2024. Rookie Roman Wilson spent most of the season injured and free agent signings of Van Jefferson and Scotty Miller predictably offered little. Pickens missed three games with a hamstring injury, was prone to getting angry mid-game, and the Steelers attempted to make a slew of new pieces fit in one year. It was asking a lot especially considering Wilson missed nearly the entire summer with a calf injury after pushing a sled.
Smith wasn’t enthusiastic about Wilson as the Steelers’ QB but viewed him as the best of mediocre options.
“So because of the question mark surrounding other people along with your ability to go out and get somebody better or lack thereof, I think they end up sticking with Russell Wilson. Because how much is it really going to cost you?”
Wilson still could cost the Steelers a fair amount. Recent PFF projections tabbed him to make $35 million annually and even coming slightly under that would require a big contract. Starting quarterbacks aren’t cheap and even backups get paid well. Gardner Minshew signed a deal that netted him $12.5 million per year with the Las Vegas Raiders last year, initially winning the starting job before being benched mid-season.
Orlovsky proposed a new plan, one that doesn’t include Wilson or Fields.
“Somebody that’s not in their building is the answer for me,” he said of the Steelers’ QB situation. “It’s gotta be someone different. Because if it was gonna be Justin, which I advocated for, then played him this year and figured out exactly what he is. How to build off of him, all that stuff. They didn’t do that. So he’s still a giant question mark.
“Russell played well this year. But you know what you’re gonna be with Russ. You’re gonna be 10-7, 9-8. You get knocked out of the playoffs first round if you get in.”
It’s a fair point. Wilson has a ceiling that may lower as he ages, especially if his mobility continues decreasing. Fields offers upside but could end in the same spot if he leads an offense only capable of scoring 20 points per game. To Orlovsky’s view, that’s the reason to start anew. The problem with that plan is a lack of options. Free agency offers little, essentially Sam Darnold. The draft class is weak and Pittsburgh’s unlikely to make a major play for Miami’s Cam Ward or Colorado’s Shadeur Sanders.
It’s why Pittsburgh feels stuck. Largely because they are. Wilson, Fields, or Door number three, there’s no magic wand or slam-dunk solution. Until the Steelers find that, which probably won’t come until 2026 at the earliest, they won’t escape the hole they’re in.
