Chicago – Although the Pittsburgh Steelers may bench Justin Fields this week, the Chicago Bears stand a good chance of obtaining a fourth-round draft pick for their former quarterback, Russell Wilson. Wilson, who is fully recovered from a calf injury that kept him out of action prior to the season, will receive first-team reps this week in practice and may make his debut on Sunday night when the Steelers (4-2) take on the New York Jets (2-4) at Acrisure Stadium.
Wilson was starting for the Steelers before the season, but Fields took over when Wilson’s calf ailment flared up, according to head coach Mike Tomlin. Wilson is a candidate to start against the Jets, according to Tomlin, who met with Pittsburgh media on Tuesday. However, a coach shouldn’t open that can of worms unless he is almost definitely moving in that path. Tomlin stated, “(Wilson) is under consideration this week.” “We’ll see where that leads us.”
The Steelers defeated the Raiders 32–13 in Las Vegas on Sunday, ending a two-game losing run. Fields ran 11 times for 59 yards and two touchdowns and completed 14 of 23 passes for 145 yards.
After beginning the season 3-0, the Steelers had suffered losses in their last two games against the Dallas Cowboys and the Indianapolis Colts. Go here to read more:
On March 16, the Bears traded Fields, their 2021 first-round draft selection, for a conditional sixth-round selection in the 2025 draft. The Bears will receive a fourth-round pick in lieu of Fields if he plays more than half of the offensive snaps for the Steelers this season. With two exceptions, Fields, 25, has played all 399 offensive snaps for the Steelers. He was replaced on two plays by Kyle Allen in the Cowboys’ 20-17 defeat on October 6 following a vicious hit by defensive end Tyrus Wheat on the opening offensive play of the third quarter. Fields made a quick trip to the medical tent and quickly returned after flagging Wheat for roughing the passer.
Fields would need to play around 11 additional quarters (assuming play-count totals are fairly even) if Wilson ends up taking the majority of the offensive snaps at the end of the season. After missing the first five games due to injury, Wilson, 35, participated fully in practice last week and was the starting quarterback in the team’s triumph in Las Vegas. After spending two years in Denver, the Broncos released the nine-time Pro Bowl pick while playing for the Seattle Seahawks in March.
Wilson is only receiving $1.21 million from the Steelers since the Broncos were supposed to pay him the remaining $39 million that was promised in his deal. Under new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, Fields and Wilson were expected to duke it out for the starting job in training camp. However, Wilson’s calf injury hampered his practice and preseason activity, so a full-fledged competition never happened. Before Wilson’s condition worsened on September 5, the Steelers had planned for him to start in the season opener.
With Fields leading the team, the Steelers defeated the Atlanta Falcons 18-10, the Broncos 13-6, and the Los Angeles Chargers 20-10 to open the season on a high note. They were plus-three in takeaways and stopped a field goal, but they lost to the Colts 27-24 and then to the Cowboys. Fields outperformed the Cowboys defence, which was without many key players, including edge rusher Micah Parsons, by completing 15 of 27 passes for 131 yards and one touchdown.
Fields’s overwhelming victory over the Raiders didn’t seem to help him land the starting position, as Tomlin refused to even raise the prospect of a swap if he wasn’t leaning significantly towards it. He has been the Steelers coach for far too long—eighteen seasons—to make the blunder of starting an unneeded media frenzy and instilling doubt in the locker room. With a 93.9 passer rating, Fields has completed 66.3% of his throws for 1,106 yards, five touchdowns, and just one interception. He has also gained 231 yards and five touchdowns on 55 runs. However, the Steelers have had trouble producing big plays as they rank 26th in total offence (298.3 yards per game), 28th in passing (166.8 ypg), and 20th in scoring (20.7 points per game). Furthermore, it seems that Tomlin wants to test what may happen if Wilson took the reins.
