The Pittsburgh Steelers have had one hell of a topsy-turvy season so far. They were looking forward to getting the most out of Russell Wilson when they took him on from the Broncos at a cut-rate price. Cue his injury and them having to replace the 35-year-old with 25-year-old Justin Fields. And then Fields blowing everyone away with his initial performances, followed by his subsequent slump.

So now, with Russell Wilson being fit and in consideration to play against the Jets this weekend, who gets to play? Steelers wide receiver George Pickens weighs in, “I’m really the most unselfish guy in the world. To me, they’re both good players. I know they’ve both good two different playing styles. But I know they can both engineer a victory.”

A remarkably mature take, you’ve got to admit. He went on to talk about his Georgia University mindset, “That’s one of the big things with us, I only care about one thing, winning.” Well, that makes his stance crystal clear. Justin Fields did look like he had it in him to keep them winning those first three games. But after the last three disappointing performances, that’s a tougher claim to make.

But he’s clearly shown sparks of brilliance on the field. Sure, he’s not got the experience of Russell Wilson, who won the Super Bowl in his second season and is in his 13th year, but he’s talented. Russell Wilson’s not been on the field since last year, so there’s warmup troubles too. But he’s getting on now, plus they’ve only got him on a one-year contract. Ultimately the choice the Pittsburgh Steelers are looking at is; do they pick Wilson and hope for success this year, or Fields, and hope to train up a longterm quarterback?

How did Russell Wilson end up with the Steelers?

Russell Wilson’s had one hell of a bumpy ride on his way to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He used to play for the Seahawks back in the day, that’s who he won the 2013 Super Bowl with. He was their savior in many a campaign, so the Denver Broncos felt it was worth the price when they forked out $245 million for him in 2022, for a 5-year contract.

Why then did they bench this $245 million asset? Well, Wilson’s first season with the Broncos went miserably, with them finishing 5-12. Just when it looked like things were going better in 2023, with them at 8-8, he was benched. And it was purely because he refused to change the injury clause in his contract, according to Wilson. If they triggered his injury clause, they would be on the hook for $37 million with no way to cut him, so they decided they were better off benching him altogether.

Come 2024, they offloaded him onto the Pittsburgh Steelers, while still paying him $39 million this season. And the Steelers got him for a real steal, $1.21 million for one year. The man just wants to play, but that’s the very thing injury took away from him. Here’s hoping we’ll see him back on the field and healthy this season.