Everybody and their mother are now claiming that the Steelers prefer to re-sign QB Justin Fields over Russell Wilson. Whether they actually know that to be true or not doesn’t matter, because it’s easy enough to believe. But there is one basic reality that does point to that as evidence—the fact that nothing’s happened.
That is the conclusion many have reached, that if the Steelers actually wanted to re-sign Russell Wilson, they would have already done so. CBS NFL reporters Aditi Kinkhabwala weighed in on that on an appearance on 93.7 The Fan yesterday.
“It’s very obvious that [Russell Wilson’s] market is not nearly as robust as he would like it to be. And if the Steelers were really so gung-ho on him, then, yes, it would’ve happened”. She also said of a potential reunion with Pete Carroll in Las Vegas that “that’s not happening”.
There is some logic to this, as Russell Wilson has bled Black and Gold since signing with the Steelers. While Justin Fields nominally “chose” Pittsburgh as his involuntary trade destination, the circumstances are incongruous. And it doesn’t help that Mike Tomlin went with Wilson over him despite Fields’ 4-2 start. That decision seemed to jolt his confidence, realizing he hadn’t done enough to keep the job.
Because here’s the thing about that: Justin Fields was the backup, yes, and he was playing due to injury. The job wasn’t his to lose, but you’re a fool if you don’t think it wasn’t his to win. If he played so well that he gave the Steelers no choice but to sit Russell Wilson, they would have. He didn’t, and nobody should be of the opinion that he did. In reality, he merely displayed bouts of competence, which to Steelers fans recently might look somewhat spectacular.
The long and short of it is Justin Fields has reason to delay signing with the Steelers, while Russell Wilson has reason to accelerate it. Wilson might put out there that he views the New York Giants as a possibility, but that’s Plan B. If he didn’t see re-signing with the Steelers as his best shot of remaining relevant, he wouldn’t actively campaign for it.
Now, that doesn’t mean that if the Steelers don’t re-sign Wilson he won’t find a starting job elsewhere. It does mean that the path is less clear, though. While teams have to compete for players once they hit free agency, players also have to compete for teams. And once the dominos start falling, you’d better find a move to make quickly.
