Nobody is going to say the Pittsburgh Steelers have a fantastic quarterback situation going into the 2024 campaign with Russell Wilson as the starter and Justin Fields as the back, but it's certainly better than what the team had last season.
Taking it a step further, having Wilson and Fields is a better situation than at least a handful of teams have, but Pro Football Network's Dallas Robinson doesn't see it that way.
In fact, he thinks the Steelers have the second-worst quarterback situation in the entire NFL, with only the Las Vegas Raiders having a worse one.
The top-eight list includes, from No. 1 to No. 8: Raiders, Steelers, New York Giants, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings.
Before we get to why Robinson is wrong, here's what he said about the Steelers:
Even if you believe Fields offers more upside thanks to his age and rushing ability, he’s been abysmal as a pure passer. Over the last three years, Fields ranks 28th in passer rating and 29th in adjusted net yards per attempt.
Wilson is the safer choice for conservative Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. Fields shined during training camp practices but repeatedly made mistakes in Pittsburgh’s preseason games. He fumbled two snaps and took two sacks in Week 1, then lost another snap and absorbed two more sacks in Week 3.
Neither passer is a perfect fit for new Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s scheme, which emphasizes play action and throws over the middle.
Betting on Wilson or Fields to improve in 2024 is probably a fool’s errand. The only good wager on Pittsburgh’s QB room? That Wilson and Fields will both make starts this season.
The Browns and Giants are locked into massive contracts with their respective quarterbacks, yet both have been terrible and injured and haven't come close to earning what they're being paid. Steelers should be ahead of them both.
Minnesota drafted J.J. McCarthy this year, but he's already out for the season with a knee injury, leaving draft bust Sam Darnold as the starter. Is Robinson going to sit here and tell me Darnold is a better option than either Wilson or Fields?
The Steelers should, at the very least, rank lower on this list than those three teams. We can probably keep going, but you've already got the idea of just how wildly underrated Pittsburgh's quarterback situation is here.
