A quarterback change appears to be coming in Pittsburgh and Justin Fields said on Thursday that he doesn’t think “I’ve played good enough” because he couldn’t close the door on Russell Wilson taking over the job.
Wilson was set to be the starter before a calf injury knocked him out just before the first game of the regular season and he’s gradually ramped up his workload while the Steelers were starting the season with a 4-2 record. Head coach Mike Tomlin opened the door to a change on Tuesday and Wilson has been taking first-team reps at practice, but offensive coordinator Arthur Smith didn’t share Fields’s view of how things have played out.
Smith said “sometimes some guys are too hard on themselves” and said he appreciated that about Fields because “the mental component to me is what separates the great ones from the other starters in this league and that’s what he’s pushing himself to be.” Smith didn’t confirm the change, but said Fields should focus on the positives of the first six weeks.
“You look at everything,” Smith said, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com. “I mean you try to look at from every vantage point, but that’s why you have to have conversations. No decision is ever easy. . . . When you become callous to it or numb, you probably should get out of this thing, but I think confidence should be high. He’s 4-2, he’s been pretty productive and so whatever Mike tells us to do, like I said, I’ve got it ready either way and just working and that’s my job.”
Assuming the Steelers are indeed making a change, Wilson’s first chance to run the offense will come against the Jets on Sunday night.
