Idea Of Steelers' Justin Fields Learning From New Teammate Russell Wilson Shut Down By Former NFL QB
Idea Of Steelers’ Justin Fields Learning From New Teammate Russell Wilson Shut Down By Former NFL QB
The Pittsburgh Steelers turned a 2023 quarterback room completely upside down in the 2024 offseason. Mitchell Trubisky was released, Kenny Pickett was traded, and Mason Rudolph headed down south to join the Tennessee Titans. The result in the Steel City was Russell Wilson, Justin Fields and Kyle Allen making up the room. The mix up provided an incredible amount of excitement, but a lot is unknown, given Wilson’s age and Fields’ inconsistencies. When you throw in a new offensive coordinator into the situation, it gets even more interesting. Overall, the plan should be for Fields to be the future, but he still has some developing to do.
While Fields wasn’t a starter in Week 1 of his rookie season back in 2021, he was thrown into the fire by Week 3. He wasn’t given too much of a chance to develop and grow as a professional signal-caller. The Steelers have to be hopeful that Fields has a chance to sit behind Wilson for a year or more before stepping in as the first-string guy.
Unfortunately, that might not be what happens according to former NFL quarterback JT O’Sullivan. He has a YouTube channel and calls each segment The QB School. O’Sullivan, who officially logged four seasons in the NFL with four difference franchises, is nowhere near sold on the fact that Fields can truly learn from Wilson based on what the young signal-caller needs to perform at a higher level in the future.
“I am pulling for him. Can he make the necessary adjustments to speed up how he plays? To be able to deliver the ball with some level of anticipation? Now, is he going to learn from Russell? I don’t think so. I don’t think Russell Wilson plays with a bunch of anticipation.”
The comments from O’Sullivan are certainly intriguing. While he never lit up any box scores in his career, he understands what it takes to play in the NFL and was in the same quarterback room as Brett Favre for the 2004 campaign. Additionally, he was on the practice squad with the New England Patriots and Tom Brady in 2006 for a short stint. His analysis on quarterbacks can be respected by fans given his experience.
No one is quite sure how the contract situations with Wilson and Fields will work out. After Fields’ fifth-year option was officially declined, both are under contract for just the 2024 season in Pittsburgh. Fields wouldn’t have much time to learn from the veteran in the first place if one, or both, are gone by the time the 2025 campaign rolls around.
If the long-term vision is for Fields to be the go-to-guy, then the Steelers need to have a plan in place for Fields to finally get his chance to sit back, watch and develop. Wilson has been around a while and won a lot of games. There’s no doubt that Fields can learn from him in that perspective. O’Sullivan makes a good point when it comes to the anticipation however, and Pittsburgh is going to have to find a way to help Fields grow in that area so he can eventually work into a starting role.
Steelers Can’t Rely On One-Year Quarterback Plan In Today’s NFL
It’s been proven that teams need a franchise signal-caller if a Super Bowl is the end goal. Pittsburgh is currently in limbo with its top two guys on one-year deals. While Wilson could revive his career in the Steel City, there is no telling when he may feel like it is time to retire.
That makes Fields the guy who could very well step in and lead the offense for a decade. He has to develop after not getting a chance with the Chicago Bears, but O’Sullivan’s comments are concerning, given the fact that the best way to do that may be to learn from the quarterback in front of him.
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