With the likelihood of the Pittsburgh Steelers starting Russell Wilson over Justin Fields at quarterback against the New York Jets this week, people have been speculating if that is the right choice even when the team is 4-2. Fields himself would even post on social media regarding the news to put his position into perspective as Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin spoke to the media about the decision to likely start Wilson.

Since Wilson has dealt with an injury, Fields has been filling in and has mostly been impactful in using his dual-threat ability like last Sunday in the win over the Las Vegas Raiders where he ran for two scores and 59 yards. However, Tomlin was blunt in Fields' performance so far this season how it hasn't been exceptional according to 93.7 The Fan.

“Justin has been really good, and we've been really good at times, but not to be confused with great,” Tomlin said. “Man, this is a competitive league man. We're trying to position ourselves to be that team, and we got a player with talent [Wilson]. We hadn't had an opportunity to play, so we're going to potentially explore those things. Sometimes it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with what Justin has done or has not done.”


During the preseason, Tomlin said that Wilson had the “pole position” over Fields due to his immense experience in the league and fast forwarding to the present, the decision should not be too surprising. However, with the team at 4-2 as said before, it is a little bit shocking that the coaching staff would pull the player that has led the team to mostly success.

Steelers' Mike Tomlin on what Justin Fields has given them

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields (2) warms up before a game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium.
Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

However, if there is a claim for Wilson to start, it's that the offense hasn't looked great as Tomlin suggested in the original with Fields at the helm. On the other hand, Tomlin would sing the praises of Fields while further explaining how they are going to use any player with talent at their disposal and used the example of Steelers corner back Terrell Edmunds.

“Justin has been an asset to us man,” Tomlin said. “Last week, for example his ability to utilize his legs by design and by ad lib, was a significant component of that game. He rushed for 50 plus yards and two touchdowns in game, and so we're appreciative of that. We're appreciative of how he's taking care of all, but we're just looking at all the people at our disposal the same way that we do at any position. We acquired, you know, Terrell Edmunds a number of weeks back, who we have a history with and soon as we got him up to speed and got comfortable, we started considering ways to utilize his talents. That's what you're doing in this thing, you better have your foot on the gas at all times. You better look to divide the labor up in the most appropriate way based on who's available to you and healthy, and that's just simply what we're going to do.”

It will be Wilson who will lead Pittsburgh to face the Jets this Sunday as they are second in the division.