The Pittsburgh Steelers may or may not make a quarterback change this week when they play host to the New York Jets on “Sunday Night Football.” The veteran Russell Wilson, who has yet to play this year due to a nagging calf injury, was given first-team reps in practice this week, signaling the Steelers may be ready to bench Justin Fields. But coach Mike Tomlin refused to make the move official when asked about his quarterbacks on Friday.
However, Steelers wide receiver George Pickens appeared ready to announce the QB change, as he told reporters he spent more time with Wilson after practice, “because this is his first start.”
Tomlin told reporters he knows who will start on Sunday, but that he wants to keep the decision “in-house.” He said both quarterbacks looked sharp in practice this week. Tomlin was also asked if he could utilize both quarterbacks vs. the Jets. “Certainly,” he replied.
The decision to go from Fields to Wilson would be a surprising one to say the least. The 25-year-old has the Steelers sitting at 4-2, and has scored 10 total touchdowns compared to two giveaways while completing a career-high 66.3% of his passes. Fields has recorded at least two touchdowns in each of the past four games.
Fields addressed the possibility of being benched this week, and said that if he had played better, then he wouldn’t be in danger of being passed over.
“I mean, I don’t think I’ve played good enough, if I’m being real with you,” Fields told the media. “If I’m being real with myself, I think if I did play well enough, I don’t think there would be any sort of ‘who should be playing, who should not.’ We got a few wins — of course I’m glad about that — but there are areas that I could be better at.”
