The Pittsburgh Steelers have had some questionable leadership for a while now, and reports of Kenny Pickett handling everything poorly has not helped anything. If the Steelers want to break through the constant cycle of first-round playoff exits, they need a true leader at quarterback. To help with that, the Steelers signed Russell Wilson and traded for Justin Fields. Tomlin has given the top job to Wilson to start, but anything can change. However, based off of Mike Tomlin’s comments, it would take a miracle for Fields to win the job over.
During the NFL Owner’s Meeting, some reporters, including Mike DeFabo of The Athletic, caught up with Tomlin to ask about the Steelers’ offseason, as well as the plan for the future. He was asked about the quarterback situation, and he took the time to praise Wilson and explain why he will start the offseason as the starter.
Tomlin is known for twisting words to make it motivational, but he found a quarterback that doesn’t need that kind of motivation. The Steelers need a quarterback with the kind of leadership and drive that Tomlin thinks Wilson has. He needs to prove that he can be a starting quarterback after getting benched and then cut after his second season with the Denver Broncos.
Can Steelers Trust Wilson’s Leadership?
There have been some mixed results on how Wilson has led his teams. Some believe he had a sense of entitlement and was not fit to be a true leader, which is why he was traded from the Seattle Seahawks and struggled a lot in Denver. If that is the kind of leader that the Steelers are bringing in, then it likely will not be long until he gets benched for Fields. Maybe he will be signed as a backup quarterback in 2025 in this scenario, but that’s not even guaranteed.
Mike Tomlin spoke glowingly about Russell Wilson's leadership and drive: "This is not a guy who was hungry, meaning that that can be satisfied. This is a guy that's driven. You want to you want to work with people who have that mindset."
— Mike DeFabo (@MikeDeFabo) March 24, 2024
On the other hand, it takes great leadership at the quarterback position to make back-to-back Super Bowls, win one, and be a yard away from winning the other. Even with an elite defense and running game, you need a great quarterback to achieve something like that. The Seahawks would have never done that if they chose Matt Flynn over Wilson, like the original plan was.
Wilson has previously stated that he wants to play until his 40s. If he wants to do that, he knows that he has to prove himself again. Nobody sees him as the quarterback that won a Super Bowl with the Seahawks anymore. One of the main reasons that he was signed was because he took a one-year deal for the veteran minimum. If he wants another contract with any team, he will be the leader that Tomlin expects him to be.
