NFL insider suggests the Steelers' QB problem could rear its head again after the season
If having to pay a QB is a good problem to have in the NFL, then surely having to pay two QBs is a good problem to have right? Well, in the case of the Pittsburgh Steelers, that may not be the case. Despite Russell Wilson and Justin Fields being a combined 7-2 on the […]
If having to pay a QB is a good problem to have in the NFL, then surely having to pay two QBs is a good problem to have right?
Well, in the case of the Pittsburgh Steelers, that may not be the case. Despite Russell Wilson and Justin Fields being a combined 7-2 on the season and showing some of their best ball in recent years, there's a good chance one of them is gone after the season.
And according to ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler, Justin Fields could be the odd man out after the season.
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The Fields experiment in Pittsburgh can be classified as a success; he played steady if unspectacular football in six games as the starter, winning four of them. So a return can't be completely taken off the table at this point. But Russell Wilson's quality play since taking over the job could force Fields to look elsewhere. Fields can follow the models of Darnold and Baker Mayfield, who recently signed one-year deals with teams in need of veteran quarterback help and excelled with good supporting casts.
– Jeremy Fowler, ESPN
Fowler's point about Fields following the Sam Darnold-Baker Mayfield model is what's most intriguing about his report. If teams are willing to shell out solid, starter-level money to those two, what are they willing to give a QB with a dual-threat skillset coming off what is arguably the best six games of his career at only 26 years old?
The answer: A lot of money.
And that's something Pittsburgh will have to figure out. Sure, Russell Wilson is playing at the level that Mike Tomlin envisioned, and if he continues to perform, and more importantly, win…It's hard to imagine the team moving off of him in the offseason.
What has to be remembered is that both Fields and Wilson are free agents once the season ends.
To expect Fields to turn down more money or a staring job to sit behind Russell Wilson for another year isn't fair to him.
But giving Russell Wilson another contract that would go through his late 30s is a risk that could come back to bite Pittsburgh.
Sure, maybe the last two and a half seasons with the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks were all a facade, and Wilson really is back to his old self.
But how much longer does that keep up? And do things change when Wilson goes from being in a contract year to having job security for the rest of his career?
These are all questions that Pittsburgh will have to answer in 4-5 months, but for now, their focused on winning the seventh Lombardi and letting the rest figure itself out.
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