When the Pittsburgh Steelers signed veteran quarterback Russell Wilson earlier this offseason, most expected that he would take over as the team’s starting quarterback this season, even after the team also brought in former Chicago Bears starter Justin Fields. But it sounds like there’s a very real chance that Wilson won’t be the team’s starter this season.
This week, Dan Graziano of ESPN explains reported that Justin Fields has a much better chance of beating out Russell Wilson winning the starting quarterback job than most people seem to realize.
“It’s easy to listen to the chatter around this situation and just assume Wilson has it all sewed up, but after visiting Steelers camp and talking to people there, I am not so sure. Pittsburgh isn’t financially committed to either guy in any significant way. The coaching staff has no prior attachment to either and no preconceived notions about either. In that way, this is a unique quarterback competition that could absolutely still go either way — especially if Wilson misses more practice time and Fields gets a better chance than expected to close the race,” Graziano wrote.
Graziano went as far as to predict that Fields – not Wilson – would be the team’s starting quarterback to start the season.
“It’s a lot more of a coin flip than most think, and I believe that part of the reason the Steelers have set Wilson up as the leader in the competition is because they believe that’s the best way to manage him. But I’m going to go out on a limb here and say Fields will show enough through camp to catch him and claim the Week 1 starting spot. I know most people disagree, and I am fully prepared to be wrong. But the vibes didn’t start off great for Wilson, and I just think the Steelers are going to be too tempted by Fields’ upside once they see them both out there. The question then would become whether Wilson is on the team at all,” Graziano wrote.
Needless to say, this is pretty horrible news for Wilson as he undoubtedly expected to be the starter when he signed with the Steelers, and it led to a lot of reactions on social media.
Personally think it benefits the Steelers massively to invest time and reps in Fields. We know what Russ is. https://t.co/1WeC7K8eey
— Diarmaid (@DiarmaidOMorain) July 28, 2024
I guess we shall see. https://t.co/Bb2ltiC3Qc
— . (@Notdojaaa) July 28, 2024
Steelers win that division when Fields is the starter. Let Russ hold a clipboard. https://t.co/vxuMIOe6MA
— Staxx Verstappen (@JustJuice_1) July 28, 2024
Russ gonna mess around and find out https://t.co/fcaBZOuCeF
— BVS (@BTheLastHope) July 29, 2024
Give him the job now. Russell is washed https://t.co/jKdeHrmh2J
— Jake Heller (@JRake_88) July 28, 2024
He’ll have the job by week 5 https://t.co/ezW3XAqtO4
— S (@S1class_) July 28, 2024
We’ll have to see how this whole situation plays out.
[ESPN]
