Russell Wilson beats out Justin Fields for starting QB role in Pittsburgh
The Pittsburgh Steelers have Russell Wilson cooking.
Coach Mike Tomlin announced the nine-time Pro Bowler as the team’s starting quarterback on Wednesday, ending a largely superficial quarterback competition with Justin Fields in which the 35-year-old Wilson held what Tomlin called “the pole position” for months and did little to give ground to Fields.
Wilson becomes the fourth different starting quarterback in Week 1 in as many seasons for the Steelers. They’ve gone from Ben Roethlisberger to Mitch Trubisky to Kenny Pickett and now Wilson, who failed in two seasons in Denver but practically sprinted to Pittsburgh in hopes of resurrecting his career.
The Steelers overhauled their offense this offseason, completely overhauling the quarterback room and hiring former Atlanta head coach Arthur Smith as offensive coordinator.
Wilson, who signed a one-year deal on the first day of free agency, will be tasked with cranking up production for a team that is the primary reason Pittsburgh has failed to win a playoff game in eight years, the franchise’s longest drought since the Immaculate Reception of 1972.
That dry spell is one reason the Steelers made such an abrupt shift at the most important position on the field. Tomlin and general manager Omar Khan said repeatedly over the winter that they were all in on Pickett, a 2022 first-round pick.
Things changed quickly—very quickly—after Wilson was brought in to provide competition. Pittsburgh traded Pickett within hours of Wilson. The Steelers then acquired Fields, who endured three uneven seasons in Chicago.
Although Fields is a decade younger than Wilson and far more mobile, Wilson has experience and a resume that includes a Super Bowl ring. A calf injury slowed Wilson during training camp, leaving Fields with more practice sessions with the starters.
Tomlin’s decision to play it slow fueled speculation that Fields had a shot at becoming the starter. The reality is that Tomlin put Wilson at the top of the list at the start of training camp and Fields was never able to beat him out.
The series ended last Saturday in Detroit when Wilson led a quick four-play touchdown drive that included a nice 26-yard flip to George Pickens.
Wilson’s numbers were solid in Denver last season, throwing 26 touchdowns against eight interceptions and remaining effective in the red zone. Still, he clashed with Broncos coach Sean Payton, so much so that Denver opted to move on from the potential Hall of Famer just 18 months after trading him and signing him to a massive $242 million extension.
The Broncos were so eager to replace Wilson that they were willing to pick up the $39 million they owed him in 2024, allowing the Steelers to sign Wilson for minimum salary.
The stakes are high for Wilson, Fields and the Steelers. Pittsburgh currently does not have a quarterback under contract through 2025 after declining to pick up Fields’ fifth-year option.
While Wilson will play with the starters on Sept. 8 in Atlanta, nothing is guaranteed after that. Only once in the past decade has the same quarterback started every game of a given season.
Last year, Pittsburgh rotated Pickett, Trubisky and Mason Rudolph, with Rudolph improbably taking control of the playoffs after taking over in December.
Pittsburgh’s stay in the playoffs was short-lived, however. The Steelers were easily handled by the Bills in the opening round, leading to some soul-searching that ended with one of the NFL’s most stable franchises making a series of bold moves in search of a spark.
Wilson gets the chance to fill that role as he attempts to put a forgotten chapter in his successful career behind him for good.