On the most recent episode of the “RG3 And The Ones” podcast, renowned ESPN NFL analyst Mina Kimes discussed what veteran quarterback Russell Wilson of the Pittsburgh Steelers needs to accomplish this summer in order to be the starting quarterback. During training camp, the former Seahawks and Broncos signal-caller Justin Fields, a first-round pick in 2021, will compete with each other.
“The two things I’d wanna see is, coming in this summer, preseason, whatnot, does it look like you can play faster? In a way that you can cut down on the time to throw, [cut down on] the sacks a little,” Kimes said about Wilson, as shared by Josh Carney of Steelers Depot. “And then do you, as an organization with Arthur Smith as your offensive coordinator, are you willing to fully embrace his mobility? Because if not, don’t even bother having a competition. Don’t even bother having him run the offense.”
Before Wilson signed a team-friendly deal to join the Steelers, New England Patriots beat writer Chris Mason of MassLive said that game film showed the 35-year-old has “lost some of that escapability as his legs have started to go.” According to StatMuse, no quarterback took more sacks over the past two seasons than Wilson (100).
Fields (99) is second on the list.
Steelers insiders and individuals associated with the organization such as head coach Mike Tomlin insist Wilson will enter training camp as the starter even though many believe it’s only a matter of time before Fields makes Wilson surplus to requirements. Kimes declared that Tomlin has to hold a “real competition” between the two for the good of everyone involved.
“I think for Fields, I’m a huge fan of his game and I think he’s shown a lot of flashes that would still be interesting to me,” Kimes told Griffin. “As a team, I think his ceiling is higher than Russ’ at this point. Russ’ floor is probably higher.”
Tomlin reportedly is as hyped today as he’s been at this stage of an offseason in well over a decade, but DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Steelers on Thursday afternoon as +200 underdogs to qualify for the next postseason tournament regardless of who starts for the team at quarterback.
Since Pittsburgh won’t be tied to Wilson or Fields after 2024, Tomlin’s primary concern going into Week 1 is selecting the player who proves to be the superior choice this summer.
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