Insider Gives Clear Reason Why Steelers Want to Start Russell Wilson

Fans will have to wait until Sunday night to officially find out who is starting behind center for the Pittsburgh Steelers. But all signs point to veteran Russell Wilson making his team debut.

Steelers insider Mark Kaboly argued there’s one main reason why the Steelers are probably switching to Wilson despite a 4-2 start with Justin Fields.

“Russell throws a better ball,” said Kaboly on 93.7 The Fan on October 18. “It just comes out of his hand quicker, faster, more accurate, that whole thing. You could just see it. That’s what I’ve seen for a while now and that’s what I base a lot of things on, just how he throws the ball.”

Kaboly made it clear that the way Wilson throws the ball doesn’t guarantee more success for the offense overall. But Kaboly suggested the advantage Wilson gives the Steelers throwing makes the switch worth the risk.

“You’re gonna look at it and say you’ll see it,” said Kaboly. “I mean, you’ll see it right away and say, ‘Okay, he’s a better thrower than Justin.’

“Now, is he a better overall fit and be able to produce more points? I guess that’s what we’re gonna find out Sunday.”

Wilson’s delivery was one of his foundations for success early in his career with the Seattle Seahawks. In 10 seasons with Seattle, Wilson earned nine Pro Bowl nominations and led the team to a Super Bowl title.

But the past two seasons, he struggled with the Denver Broncos. He completed 66.4% of his passes for 3,070 yards and 26 touchdowns with 8 interceptions in 15 starts during 2023.

Wilson last posted a winning record in the 2020 season.

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Mike Tomlin Didn’t Official Name Russell Wilson Steelers Starting QB

Wilson practiced with the first-team offense in preparation for Week 7. Fields also received and answered questions about losing the starting quarterback role.

But officially, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin didn’t name a starter.

“I’m going to keep that in-house,” Tomlin told the media on October 18, via 93.7 The Fan. “I thought [Wilson] was sharp. I thought Justin was sharp as well. I thought we had a highly productive week from both guys, and from the unit as a whole.”

Kaboly argued that Tomlin may be hiding who he plans to start at quarterback out of spite to the media.

“All of us know that Russell [Wilson] was gonna. Obviously, the Jets knew that Russell was going to start. I mean, if we know, they know, they anticipated,” Kaboly said. “He could label it under gamesmanship, but I think he might have been partly out of spite.

“‘Hey, you’re making a big deal out of this? Hey, we’ll make you wait ’til Sunday’ type of thing.”

But while Tomlin didn’t want to say which quarterback would begin Week 7 behind center, Steelers wide receiver George Pickens spilled the beans.

“Getting on the same page after practice, throwing,” Pickens told reporters, via ESPN’s Brooke Pryor. “More than usual because this is his first start.”

If that wasn’t enough to confirm the worst kept secret in the league this week, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on October 19 that the Steelers plan to start Wilson in Week 7.

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The Risks of the Steelers Starting Wilson

On paper, Wilson appears to present the Steelers a better opportunity to break open their passing attack. With Fields, the Steelers are ranked 28th in passing yards this season.

But the quarterback switch comes with risk. Wilson doesn’t have the running ability Fields does, and the Steelers have a banged up offensive line. Against the Jets, the Steelers will start three backup offensive linemen. Two of those backups will start the rest of the season because of injuries to starters.

With the Broncos the past two seasons combined, Wilson was sacked 100 times.

The Steelers also aren’t equipped with elite receivers. So even if Wilson changes his approach from Denver and aims to deliver the ball quickly, there’s no guarantee those wideouts will be able to create the necessary separation. That could be especially true against the Jets, who are second in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game.

Wilson may need to be a significantly better passer when he has his opportunities than Fields was for the Steelers offense to improve at all.

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