The Pittsburgh Steelers are now 4-2 following Sunday’s 32-13 road win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Led by a stingy defense and steady quarterback play of starter Justin Fields, the Steelers are playing their brand of football.
A huge reason for running back Najee Harris’ success on the ground is Fields as a dual-threat option at quarterback. Coming into the season, the former Ohio State star was the projected backup to Russell Wilson, but with Wilson dealing with a nagging calf injury, Fields has seized his opportunity.
Fields has also become someone that the Steelers play hard for. In fact, it’s so obvious that former Heisman Trophy-winning signal-caller Cam Newton believes the team should trade Wilson and totally give the reins to Fields.
Cam Newton Says Trade Russell Wilson
During his first of many appearances in his new guest spot on ESPN’s “First Take,” Newton was in rare form. The 2010 No. 1 overall pick, who’s made a name for himself in sports media with outlandish takes, made one Friday.
As the panel discussed the Steelers QB and what they needed to do in order to end their two-game losing streak, Newton’s biggest thing was continuing to stick with Fields. As in don’t bench him in favor of Wilson, whom he also feels the team should trade.
“Honestly, use Russell Wilson as trade value. The fact that the Miami Dolphins haven’t reached out to Pittsburgh is beyond me, especially with the specific situation at this particular point in time. I know we’ve seen enough in Pittsburgh to really crown Justin Fields, and they’ve said it without really saying it. The whole morale of the team, guys are fighting for him. They’re playing for him.”
Strong words from Newton, who sounds like he has some inside information on the QB situation in Pittsburgh.
Head coach Mike Tomlin has made it clear this week that he’s not fully ready to anoint Fields as QB1, saying when Wilson was healthy enough to return, they’d evaluate everything. That should be next week, and we’ll see what decision he makes.
Offensive Coordinator Favors Fields?
For years now we’ve heard that drama and phoniness seem to follow Wilson. It was reported in both Seattle and Denver, where he allegedly rubbed teammates the wrong way. With Fields that’s never been the case, even in Chicago, where wins were hard to come by, Fields always showed toughness that made his teammates want to play for him.
That seems to be the case in Pittsburgh, and it’s something that first-year offensive coordinator Arthur Smith loves about him. On Thursday, Smith told reporters this about Fields.
“There’s no drama to him,” Smith said. “He doesn’t try to live through his avatar or create a perception. That’s probably why he was so endearing to his teammates in Chicago. … Extremely coachable, extremely bright.”
Smith just fired a stray at Wilson, and don’t think for one second the timing of it is no coincidence. He knows Wilson is closing to being healthy enough to play, and he let it be known he’d much rather have Fields keep the job.
Wilson Is Insurance, Has No-Trade Clause
Both Wilson and Fields were both viewed as insurance policies if the other faltered. With Fields not doing anything to lose the job, Wilson is the backup. Which is why Newton believes the Steelers should move him, but the catch is with his no-trade clause he can block a trade to anywhere he doesn’t want to go.
Tomlin knows he has a Super Bowl-type defense, and if Fields does indeed struggle or unfortunately gets injured, having Wilson to turn the reins over to isn’t a bad thing.
