While Russell Wilson started off well with the Pittsburgh Steelers, things quickly went sour for him. He wasn’t the team’s only issue, but he was a major reason they lost their final four regular season games. Wilson was less careful with the football, and his decision making was questionable. Now, reports are coming out that there was friction between Wilson and Arthur Smith. It sounds like the Steelers are going to try to re-sign Wilson or Justin Fields, and insider James Palmer believes Smith would prefer Fields.
“It just seems like they’re somewhat stuck,” Palmer said recently on Bleacher Report’s YouTube channel. “Does Arthur Smith prefer Justin Fields over Russell Wilson? I would think there’s a decent chance that’s true. Maybe you listen to your OC on what he can do moving forward.”
Last year, there were rumors that Smith wanted to stick with Fields at quarterback, even after Wilson got healthy. Nothing was ever confirmed, but it makes sense. Fields’ skill set feels like a better fit for Smith’s offense. With reports now saying that Smith and Wilson didn’t have a great working relationship, there might be more credence to that theory.
Fields didn’t look terrible in his handful of starts, either. His mobility gave the Steelers a huge boost, especially in the red zone. Smith has had success with mobile quarterbacks in the past.
Palmer also revealed that there are people within the Steelers who prefer Fields over Wilson.
“The offense with Russell Wilson kind of fell apart at the back end of the season,” he said. “They became extremely predictable as an offense. When I talked to opposing teams, it was, ‘He’s going deep or he’s checking it down. The intermediate passing game just isn’t there.’
“They couldn’t run the ball consistently well. Just a variety of issues with Russell Wilson running that show. The reason I bring that up is there are still people in that building, working in that building today, that prefer Justin Fields over Russell Wilson.”
Multiple conflicting reports have surfaced, but it sounds like Fields indeed has supporters in the Steelers’ building. The decision to make Wilson the starter in the middle of the season was reportedly made solely by Mike Tomlin. After seeing that experiment fail, maybe he’s more willing to give Fields a shot as the starter.
There’s no telling what’s going to happen. Last offseason, the Steelers surprised the NFL with their moves at quarterback. They could do something similar this offseason. Wilson and Fields aren’t their only options. Maybe they’ll decide to go in a different direction.
At the moment, it seems like the Fields train is beginning to pick up steam in Pittsburgh. He likely isn’t the long-term answer at quarterback, but he could be a nice bridge option. Although Fields might not make the Steelers a Super Bowl contender, he could give them a more consistent offense. That was a major issue with Wilson. Fixing that could even help them finally win a playoff game.
