The Pittsburgh Steelers have plenty of crucial roster-related decisions to make this offseason, but none bigger than the option to retain either Russell Wilson or Justin Fields at quarterback.
Pittsburgh rolled with both Wilson and Fields this past season, opening the door for a standout contender to emerge and secure the job for good. That didn’t happen. Fields made six starts and 10 overall appearances and Wilson logged 11 starts. The Steelers secured their spot in the playoffs but made a brief appearance as Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens sent them packing in their AFC wild-card matchup.
That sudden turn of events in which Pittsburgh ended its campaign on a five-game losing streak and squandered a chance at the NFC North’s crown now brings the franchise to decide between Wilson and Fields. Former Steelers safety Ryan Clark, however, believes there’s a clear choice for Pittsburgh to make.
“I think they should re-sign Justin Fields, and here’s why,” Clark said on ESPN’s “NFL Live” Friday. “I think you can figure out, can he be the guy for the future? And if he bombs, at least you could go high in the draft and get you somebody good. Somebody that can play. There’s nobody on the market that you’re going to get that’s gonna come in there and outplay Justin Fields.”
Clark continued: “If you hit the top of his potential, you have your guy. And if you can’t do some of those things that you wanted to do, that you replaced him with Russell Wilson to do then you’re not good enough anyway and you go get a quarterback in the draft. But I don’t believe you bring Russell back to be good enough again.”
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Fields, at 25 years old, has a higher ceiling and more untapped potential than Wilson, who’s 36 years old and at the tail-end of his 13-year career. Yes, the Steelers are in a contend-now mode, but Wilson is past his prime, and the incentive to bring him back and allow Fields to flee Pittsburgh in free agency is too risky coming off a wild-card exit.
When Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin ran with Fields as the starter, Pittsburgh went 4-2. Fields threw for 1,106 yards with five touchdowns and one interception, showing commendable strides along the way.
Steelers owner Art Rooney II, without offering a preference between Fields and Wilson, suggested the likelihood of both veterans returning in a Pittsburgh uniform next season isn’t likely.
“I wouldn’t close the door, but I’d say it’s probably unlikely,” Rooney said last Monday, per ESPN’s Brooke Pryor. “I think both of them see themselves as starters and I don’t know that they want to share the same job again next year. So, I would say most likely we probably don’t wind up bringing them both back.”
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If the Steelers choose to let Fields walk away, the four-year veteran should have zero issues garnering interest from teams across the league in the open market.
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