Don’t try to fix what’s not broken. That’s the philosophy Mike Tomlin has been sticking with ever since he saw Justin Fields playing like a starting QB. Fields outdid himself in the last game against the Chargers, throwing for 245 yards and a touchdown. The Pittsburgh Steelers HC is impressed, to say the least. So, where does this leave Russell Wilson?

After the Chargers game, Tomlin was asked what’s stopping him from naming Fields the starting QB. For now, the head coach is waiting for Russell Wilson to get healthy, and until then, Tomlin has “no intentions of making a decision that’s unnecessary at this junction.” This caught the attention of Mike Florio, and he offered his honest take on NFL on NBC.

Is there a need to replace Justin Fields?

Per Florio, Tomlin and the Steelers are playing with the semantics of the “word game,” where Justin Fields won’t be benched in due time; rather, it’ll be Russell Wilson taking his QB1 job back. Tomlin is just waiting for Wilson to get better but won’t do anything to hamper Fields’ hot streak. A very diplomatic way of putting the QB1 conversation to rest, isn’t it? Russell Wilson suffered a calf injury during training and hasn’t played a regular season game yet, which has prompted Tomlin to take one step at a time.

Florio enacted Tomlin saying, “What I’m going to do, I’m going to let this play out one week at a time and if and when the guy who’s playing ever stumbles, the guy who’s injured is going to be healthy and QB1 will simply be taking his job back.’ So, you never bench the guy that they want to groom to be the long-term starter.”

The host thinks, “That’s the reality, they’re playing a word game but it’s an important word game to play because when they bench Justin Fields, if they have to bench him, they don’t want it to be a benching of Justin Fields,” on NFL on NBC.

Fields has been very effective and consistent ever since he got the starting job in Pittsburgh. In his first game against ATL, he completed nearly 74% of his passes but didn’t throw a touchdown, although he had some rushing numbers too. He carried the ball 14 times for 57 yards in the first game. In the next game against Denver, Fields did slightly better.

Though his passing numbers dipped down a bit, he scored his first TD as a Steeler against the Broncos. However, the last game against the Chargers confirmed Mike Tomlin’s suspicions: Justin Fields can ball! He completed 26 of his 32 passes for 245 yards (that’s 78.1%), scoring a rushing TD and a passing TD. He threw a pick, though, but it looks like Tomlin is willing to let it slide.

Do you still think that the Steelers are in a hurry to let Russell Wilson start? Will he suffer the same fate as Kenny Pickett before even getting a chance to prove himself?

Russell Wilson might get the Kenny Pickett treatment

Kenny Pickett played all but 12 games last season and was benched mid-season in favor of Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph. The season ended, and the Steelers unloaded the whole QB room. However, it was Kenny Pickett’s decision to leave the Steelers organization. He thought that “it was time” and that he wanted another “chance to grow my career.” Maybe he’ll get that chance with the Eagles. Per Florio, though, Wilson can suffer the same bad luck.

“You don’t want to bring Mr. Unlimited [Wilson] in,” Florio said. “You want to go in and you want to say to Mike Tomlin, ‘Hey! You want volunteers and not hostages. I don’t want to be here. I want to play. I want to be traded to a place where I think I can play.” The host also mentioned how the Steelers got Justin Fields two weeks after acquiring Russ. Naturally, that might have caught him off guard.

Before the regular season even began, Mike Tomlin was set on Wilson, considering his veteran status. Fields has changed everything in a matter of three weeks. It may have been true when Justin Fields said that he wasn’t there to just sit around and that it was a competition between him and Russ. Well, lo and behold!

Do you think Russ will stay with the Steelers after this season? Let us know in the comments.