The Pittsburgh Steelers are winning with backup quarterback Justin Fields behind center. That’s great for the team but a little bit of a problem for starting quarterback Russell Wilson.
Wilson didn’t have firm control of the job before his calf injury, having to win the starting quarterback role in the preseason. So, the longer Fields continues to shine in the regular season, the harder it will be to keep Wilson the team’s starter in name.
Many pundits, including retired quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, have already argued that Fields has done enough through two games to remain the team’s starter when Wilson is healthy.
But on September 18, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio presented the potential repercussions of permanently benching Wilson for Fields.
“The challenge is keeping Russell Wilson from activating his personal media machine in the event that he knows he’s ready to go, and he’s frustrated about not playing,” Florio said during an appearance on 93.7 The Fan. “That’s the only downside to this, but I think they know how to handle him in a way that will keep him from trying to make his case through his PR representatives, to reporters who would be pushing the agenda that, ‘Why did he come here? He should be traded,’ whatever the case may be.”
Wilson practiced in a limited fashion on September 18.
Head coach Mike Tomlin said a day earlier that the team was preparing Fields to start against the Los Angeles Chargers on September 22.
Steelers Trending Toward Starting Justin Fields Over Healthy Russell Wilson?
There are a couple of different ways to react to Florio’s points about Wilson’s “personal media machine.”
First, that a journalist would admit that he or one of his colleagues would cater to pushing a narrative for a player is interesting.
But that aside, it seems Florio could be greatly overstating the power of Wilson’s PR team. Despite Tomlin repeatedly stating all summer that Wilson was “in the pole position” to start, and Steelers insiders predicting Wilson would be the starter, the national media “pushed” Fields narratives that argued the 25-year-old should start instead of the Super Bowl champion.
Maybe Wilson didn’t have his PR working because he knew he was going to be the starter? It’s difficult to say.
Florio appears to be right, though, because Tomlin has treaded lightly when talking about his quarterbacks. Tomlin has firmly avoided any guesses about who would be starting when Wilson became healthy.
“My position regarding the pecking order and the depth chart has not changed, guys,” Tomlin told reporters on September 17. “And it won’t until the other guy gets healthy, and then we’ll give it real consideration. Until then, I won’t speculate.”
Those answers are helping Tomlin delay the next major decision he’ll have to make behind center. It’s only a disservice to the Steelers for Tomlin to name Fields his starter when Wilson can’t play. Fields could revert back to his turnover-prone ways, so the Steelers may still need Wilson when he’s healthy.
Steelers Give Wilson ‘Petty Game Ball’ After Broncos Victory
The other factor working against Wilson is the Steelers have very little invested in him. The team landed him for the veteran league minimum because the Denver Broncos are paying him $39 million not to play for them this season.
Wilson also turns 36 in November. Yes, the Steelers want to win this season, but if the team develops Fields this fall, they could be set at quarterback for the foreseeable future.
So, though it’s a possibility that Wilson doesn’t reclaim his starting job, Tomlin is thinking of other ways to keep the quarterback happy, Florio said. One example is the “petty game ball.”
“I think that’s why they’re doing things like giving him the ‘petty game ball,” said Florio.
“They’ll find another way to make you happy. They’ll find ways to make Russell Wilson want to stay. But he needs to play this year to set himself up to be a starter somewhere next year.”
Tomlin would not address the “petty game ball” he gave Wilson and other former Broncos after the team beat Denver. But Fields told reporters after the game Wilson received a “petty game ball.”
