The Pittsburgh Steelers completely revamped their quarterback room this offseason, signing Russell Wilson and swinging a trade for Justin Fields.
That is a major upgrade from last year, when the Steelers employed Kenny Pickett, Mitchell Trubisky and Mason Rudolph under center and still managed to win 10 games and make the playoffs.
However, an NFL analyst is wondering how exactly Pittsburgh is going to make this work.
Mike Garafolo of NFL media questioned the dynamic of the Steelers having both Wilson and Fields heading into 2024 and doesn’t understand the idea.
“I like Fields, to a certain extent, and I’d be okay with him in certain scenarios where you’ve got an established starter and somebody he can learn from,” Garafolo told Seattle sports personality Jason Puckett. “What’s he gonna learn from Russ? You’ve got two incomplete guys that you’re trying to shoehorn in here. I don’t get the plan.”
Garafolo went as far to say that he doesn’t think Wilson could be a legitimate mentor for Fields.
“[Broncos head coach] Sean Payton was livid last year with the way Russ was running the offense or lack of running the offense,” Garafolo said. “He’s made it this far in his career. He knows how to play the quarterback position, but he doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy that I’m like, ‘Boy, show him all the ways of doing things in the NFL.’ That’s not Russ to me. I don’t get it. I don’t get the whole thing.”
Of course, it’s entirely possible that the Steelers traded for Fields in order to have some insurance behind Wilson in 2024 and to potentially take over as the starter in 2025.
Wilson did bounce back in his final season with the Denver Broncos last year after a miserable year in 2022, but he is still far from the player he once was during his Seattle Seahawks days, and he is 35 years old.
Pittsburgh is obviously hoping that Wilson is a major step up from Pickett, but if he falters, the Steelers would then at least have Fields as a fallback plan.
We’ll see how Pittsburgh approaches the situation as training camp draws near.
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