With free agency about to start in just a few days, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ priority should be finding a quarterback. It seems like they have a good plan in place, though. According to recent reports, the Steelers are trying to get a deal done with Justin Fields. That seems like one of the best options available to them. However, former NFL corner Jason McCourty disagrees.
“It seems as though they’re going to stick with Justin Fields, which is crazy to me from the standpoint of Fields was your quarterback last year,” McCourty said Friday on ESPN’s Unsportsmanlike. “You decide to go to Russell Wilson. It gets ugly down the stretch.
“You can blame Russ, you can blame whoever you want. You look at it, offensively, they struggled. They never went back to Fields. Everything you see now, it’s like, they would rather bring Justin Fields back than Russell Wilson.”
McCourty brings up a good point. If the Steelers believed in Fields as a starting quarterback, why didn’t they turn to him when Wilson struggled last year? He performed well over his six starts to begin the season. It wasn’t like he didn’t have any experience starting with the Steelers.
However, the likely answer is that Mike Tomlin wanted to stick with Wilson. He made his decision, and he probably didn’t want to keep flip-flopping quarterbacks. Fields still got time on the field, too, although it was mostly in special packages.
However, McCourty’s point could also be used to support the Steelers bringing Fields back. Just like he said, things were ugly down the stretch for the Steelers’ offense. Wilson wasn’t the only problem, but he wasn’t helping. At 36 years old, Wilson is the player that he is. He’s more likely to regress than progress. That isn’t necessarily true with Fields.
It’s important to remember that Fields wasn’t originally supposed to start last year. Wilson’s calf injury forced the Steelers’ hand at the last minute. With a full offseason working as the undisputed starter under his belt, Fields might be better.
The Steelers don’t really have many better options, either. Most of the other quarterbacks available are past their prime, like Wilson. While Fields probably won’t ever be a franchise quarterback, there’s at least some hope he could develop. Just because they stuck with Wilson last year doesn’t mean they should continue to tie themselves to him.
