Flashback to three months ago: The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Washington Commanders on the road, 28-27, with a game-winning touchdown pass from Russell Wilson to Mike Williams. The Steelers improve to 10-3, with a 1.5-game lead over the Baltimore Ravens atop the AFC North. The NFL media is praising Mike Tomlin’s genius for switching from Justin Fields to Russell Wilson. Wilson’s tossing spirals like he’s 28 again, and his disastrous days in Denver seem like a lifetime ago.
Two months later, the Steelers were embarrassed by the Ravens in the first round of the playoffs, marking their fifth straight loss, and their fifth straight game failing to score more than 17 points. All of a sudden, Mr. Unlimited is once again a laughing stock and fans are questioning why Fields was ever benched.
Today, the Steelers are stuck with the same conundrum they faced throughout 2024: Should they go with Russell Wilson or Justin Fields as their starting quarterback?
On Friday’s episode of The North Shore Drive podcast with Brian Batko and Christopher Carter, Batko chose Justin Fields as the Steelers’ biggest winner last season. He believes that Fields played his way into future starting opportunities, particularly with the way the season ended for Russell Wilson.
“[Fields had a] pretty decent start, they were 4-2, playing winning football. Two of the better wins on their schedule were against the Broncos and the Chargers, two playoff teams. He positioned himself for a starting job in the NFL whether it’s here or elsewhere in 2025…[He got] the Bears stink off of him…Caleb Williams did not suddenly come in and make people forget about Justin Fields…[Fields] won this season in a lot of ways for me.”
The 2024 season was another rollercoaster for Steelers’ quarterbacks, just like 2023. And after all the chaos and drama the Steelers are right back where they started. Despite the uncertainty and all the ups and downs, Justin Fields is better off than he was before the season started. In his six games as a starter, the Steelers went 4-2. His numbers didn’t pop, and he struggled in the passing game at times, but he still had ten total touchdowns to just one interception. He took care of the ball, added to the run game, and left the Steelers in a good spot when Russell Wilson took over.
Steelers owner Art Rooney II made it clear that he wants to sign either Russell Wilson or Justin Fields this offseason. Either, not both. While Wilson’s high points were higher, his low points were also much lower than Fields’. And the best thing going for Fields is that Russell Wilson’s worst performances came at the end of the season, leaving Steelers fans with sore eyes and a bitter disposition towards Mike Tomlin and Russell Wilson.
It helps that Fields is only 25, while Wilson is 36. He hasn’t shown it yet, but with his physical traits, and with the right roster, his ceiling could be Jalen Hurts (not saying he’ll reach that level, but they have some similarities in their game). Fields will likely be cheaper than Wilson as well, but with Wilson’s outspoken desire to remain in Pittsburgh he may try and do what it takes to settle on a team-friendly contract.
If the Steelers let Fields go, he’ll be picked up quickly by another quarterback-needy team, and likely given an opportunity to start after how he played in his six starts for the Steelers this season.
