If you were sick of the Russell Wilson-Justin Fields debate for the 2024 season, it seems like we will have to deal with it for at least another month until the start of free agency.
The 2024 decision between Wilson and Fields began all the way back in March when both were acquired within a week of each other. Mike Tomlin quickly let everybody know that Wilson was in “pole position.” Tomlin backed that up all throughout the summer while Wilson was dealing with an injury and Fields was leading the team in training camp. Tomlin ultimately went “lone ranger” in restoring Wilson to his intended starting position, much to the surprise of basically everybody at the time.
That internal struggle in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ building appears to be continuing well into the offseason at this point. While addressing a recent report from Jay Glazer that states Wilson’s time is likely done in Pittsburgh, one Steelers insider pushed back on the idea.
“I don’t think the Steelers are down that road yet,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo said via 93.7 The Fan’s PM Team this afternoon.
Glazer is one of the most plugged-in national insiders when it comes to the Steelers due to his friendship with Mike Tomlin, and he has often given accurate scoops on the inner workings behind the scenes in the past.
This also came on the heels of P-G insider Gerry Dulac stating that Wilson had the ability to check out of plays effectively stripped from him by OC Arthur Smith towards the end of the season.
That seems like a fairly strong indication of trouble between Wilson and the Steelers’ decision makers, but Wilson stated at the end of the season that he would like to remain in Pittsburgh, even dismissing the idea of joining his former head coach Pete Carroll with the Las Vegas Raiders, with his focus remaining on Pittsburgh.
If it seems confusing, that might be because even the Steelers organization itself is unsure of which route they’d like to go at quarterback.
“I still think there are people in that building who are Russ guys,” Fittipaldo said. “…I think they are divided in that building on who they want to come back, and I think that’s still to be determined.”
Tomlin seemed to be the biggest Wilson advocate throughout the 2024 season, but he had plenty of good things to say about Justin Fields in his end-of-season press conference while saying they were open to bringing him back as the 2025 starter.
The start of free agency is still over a month away, and the Steelers still need to solidify their coaching staff before they start formulating their personnel plan in free agency and the draft.
For what it’s worth, Dulac said something similar in his P-G Steelers chat today when asked about which way they were leaning with the QB situation.
“Right now, I’m not sure if they are ‘clearly’ leaning one way or another because I know there is something of a split sentiment,” Dulac wrote.
Up until a contract is accepted by one of either Wilson or Fields, everything else will remain speculation.
