NFL insider has theory about Steelers' Russell Wilson, Justin Fields debate

Individuals who cover the Pittsburgh Steelers continue to insist that head coach Mike Tomlin will start veteran quarterback Russell Wilson over Justin Fields despite the fact that pockets of fans believe Fields could become the team's long-term answer at the position.

For a piece published Friday, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk suggested Wilson's two-season stint with the Denver Broncos has something to do with Tomlin's depth chart heading into Pittsburgh's preseason finale at the Detroit Lions on Saturday.

"Three of the first six games come against teams from the AFC West, where Wilson spent the last two seasons," Florio said about the Steelers' schedule. "And it starts with a return to Denver in Week 2. He’ll be extra motivated to beat the Broncos, and he’ll be more familiar with the Chargers in Week 3 and the Raiders in Week 6."

Broncos head coach Sean Payton was so desperate to push Wilson out the door this past March that the club is paying the 35-year-old roughly $37.8M to feature for the Steelers this season. Wilson's play with Denver across the past two campaigns undeniably left much to be desired, and he failed to impress when he took three sacks and completed eight of his 10 passes for 47 yards in Pittsburgh's preseason game against the Buffalo Bills last Saturday.

As Florio noted, though, Wilson "wasn’t fully unleashed" versus Buffalo as the one-time Super Bowl champion worked to return to full fitness coming off the calf injury he suffered early into training camp. Tomlin seemingly hopes a better version of Wilson will emerge at Ford Field this weekend.

Following the Steelers' Week 7 game against the New York Jets on Oct. 20, Pittsburgh will host what's advertised to be a lackluster New York Giants side for a "Monday Night Football" showdown on Oct. 28. Fields theoretically could get the nod for that Week 8 contest if Pittsburgh ends the Jets matchup with a losing record.

As of Friday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook and FanDuel Sportsbook continued to list Wilson as the heavy favorite to start Pittsburgh's Week 1 game at the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 8.

"The fact that Wilson and the Steelers start with a pair of road games gives him a chance to build up some equity without having to hear murmurs from the hometown fans if/when he misfires on passes or gets swallowed up by pass rushers," Florio added.

Perhaps Tomlin agrees with that take despite what Wilson has shown throughout August.