Russell Wilson won the quarterback battle this summer, but he’s yet to take an actual snap for the Pittsburgh Steelers. In his place, Justin Fields has played good, turnover-free football, and he’s making a case to keep the starting quarterback job. Mike Tomlin will have a difficult decision to make once Wilson is healthy. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero believes Wilson won’t be handed the job back just because he won that initial competition.
Appearing Monday on the Rich Eisen Show, Pelissero explained why he believes Fields could keep the job.
“With Justin Fields, you’re not being inundated with, ‘It’s not good enough,’” Pelissero said. “It is good enough right now. I would not anticipate that he’s going to put Russell Wilson back in simply because it’s Russell Wilson’s job. At this point, Russell Wilson never took a snap in a regular-season game for the Steelers.”
To clarify, Pelissero isn’t saying Wilson won’t be made the starter again once he’s healthy. He’s saying that Wilson being named the initial starter isn’t enough to give him that job back. Fields will probably need to have a bad game that leads to a loss for the Steelers to give Wilson a chance to be the starter again.
At first glance, Fields’ stats may paint the picture that he hasn’t been good, but that’s not the case at all. Some of his best plays have been negated due to penalties. He hasn’t made any major mistakes, though, and that’s key. Turnovers have been an issue for him in his NFL career, but with the Steelers, he’s been very smart with the football. Mike Tomlin has definitely noticed that.
The Steelers haven’t necessarily won because of Fields, but they haven’t lost yet because of him, either. Their offense is centered around the run game, and Fields has also given them a unique element there. At this point, he’s operated the offense at a high level. Wilson might be just as good of an option, but why take the risk when Fields is already playing well?
Whatever happens, it sounds like Tomlin will be focused on what gives the Steelers the best chance to win. That should mean that, no matter his decision, it’s the right one. It’s going to suck for Wilson to be stuck on the bench, especially because he’s been such a good leader, but winning matters over almost anything. He didn’t do anything wrong, but at this point, neither has Fields.
