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Former Steelers Player Predicts QB Change
The Pittsburgh Steelers plan will change, according to one former player.
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers have as deep a quarterbacks room as anyone in the NFL and while some might see that as a strength, others see the opportunity for a quarterback controversy.
Former Steelers defensive back Ryan Clark is one of those who believes that backup Justin Fields can and will eventually push starter Russell Wilson for playing time because the younger Fields can push Pittsburgh's ceiling even higher. Clark also shared some doubts about how far he believes Wilson can carry this team.
"I just think that eventually Justin Fields is going to get his opportunity to play, get his opportunity to start," Clark said during an appearance on the All Things Covered podcast. "How long can Russell Wilson be the answer? They're going to have to figure out who their quarterback of the future is, and Justin Fields being that answer solves a lot of problems. But you won't know that he's that answer if you shackle yourself to a 'good enough' Russell Wilson."
Clark believes it'd even be preferable for the Steelers if Fields leapfrogs Wilson on the depth chart and emerges as the bonafide starter.
"I feel like if you're the Pittsburgh Steelers, it has to be what you want to happen," Clark said. "You have to want the younger, more talented person to eventually become the starter. The hard part is that maybe Russell [Wilson] never plays bad enough to not be the starter."
Clark said he thinks that Fields can add a level of dynamic playmaking to the offense that Wilson simply doesn't. It's a difference between okay or good and potentially great and Clark wants to roll with the higher upside player.
"There's going to have to come a time in the season where Russell Wilson is playing solid football, where the team is playing good football and you say, 'I want great quarterback play,'" Clark said. "'I want dynamic quarterback play and I want a team that's playing better than good football.'"
