Longtime NFL insider Jason La Canfora raised eyebrows when he predicted on Tuesday that Justin Fields will be the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starting quarterback over veteran Russell Wilson for Week 1 of the 2024 season.
It appears some around the league aren’t sure Wilson will even remain with Pittsburgh through September.
“There’s no commitment, obligation, loyalty to any of these guys,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter said about Fields and Wilson during an appearance on the “NFL Live” program, per Ross McCorkle of Steelers Depot. “They didn’t pay very much for either one of them. I even had an executive say if Justin Fields outplayed him, Russell Wilson, during training camp, they could see [the Steelers] moving on from [Wilson] before the season.”
Multiple reports have insisted that the Steelers plan to start Wilson and won’t have a competition involving the newly acquired signal-caller.
For a piece published Tuesday night, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette revealed that “multiple sources” told him that “both Wilson and the Steelers intend to sign a longer-term deal after the season.”
Dulac also indicated that Pittsburgh may sign Fields to a new multiyear agreement that would replace the 25-year-old’s option for 2025, similar to how the Green Bay Packers handled Jordan Love’s situation last offseason.
“Think about the investment they have in each player,” Schefter explained. “They essentially are giving Russell Wilson $1.2M, while the Denver Broncos are paying him almost $38M this year. Very little investment. They gave up a conditional 2025 sixth-round pick for Justin Fields. Very little investment…They have the luxury of letting this play out during [training] camp and doing whatever is best for that football team.”
As recently as this past Friday, Wilson sounded ready to compete with 2022 first-round draft pick Kenny Pickett for the Pittsburgh starting job this summer before the club traded Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles.
If, however, it’s true that the one-time Super Bowl champion is currently viewed as the Steelers’ starting quarterback but then loses the job to Fields before the final day of August, Wilson leaving the club at that time and keeping his options open for the regular season may ultimately be what’s best for everyone involved.
Regardless of what was or wasn’t promised to Wilson behind the scenes by individuals such as Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, more than one knowledgeable person believes the 35-year-old is going to have to fight to hold onto at least his spot atop the depth chart through the preseason.
