Justin Fields Refuses to Backup Russell Wilson, issues a shocking statement
Before training camp begins, many rumors state that the Pittsburgh Steelers plan to start Russell Wilson as the starting quarterback, with recently signed Justin Fields serving as his backup. The club acquired Fields for a sixth-round pick that might become a conditional fourth-round pick, then signed Wilson for just $1.21 million on the veteran minimum.
In 2023, Fields made a little progress in his third year as the starting quarterback for Chicago. The 24-year-old former Ohio State player completed 227 of his 370 pass attempts for 2,562 yards and 16 touchdowns. In addition to throwing nine interceptions, he had an adjusted net yards per attempt of 5.29 and an 86.3 passer rating.
With an 85.2 quarterback rating, 4.63 adjusted net yards per attempt, 17 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and 2,242 yards last season, he completed 192 of 318 passes.
The Steelers need to make a decision this summer over whether to take up Justin Fields’ fifth-year option as he approaches the end of his rookie deal. That would be a 25 million dollar deal that is guaranteed. The Steelers may work out a customary contract extension.
After a difficult season in 2022, Wilson had a statistical uptick in 2023. With a 98.0 passer rating and a 6.04 adjusted net yards per attempt, Wilson started 15 games for the Broncos last season, completing 297 of 447 passes (66.4%) for 3,070 yards, 26 touchdowns, and eight interceptions.
The Broncos benched Wilson for the last stretch of the season due to a contract issue he had with the organization about his 2025 season guarantee.
Just two seasons have passed since Denver acquired Wilson. On March 16, 2022, the Broncos traded Wilson to the Seahawks in exchange for tight end Noah Fant, defensive lineman Shelby Harris, quarterback Drew Lock, and two first-round selections, two second-round selections, and a fifth-round selection.
Russell Wilson, a nine-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion with the Seahawks, had trouble in Denver. In 2022, he recorded the lowest passer rating of his career (84.4), and he was benched a league-high 55 times.
After just one season in charge, the Broncos sacked head coach Nathaniel Hackett and traded more draft selections to get Sean Payton, the head coach of the New Orleans Saints, this past summer. Although Wilson performed better, it didn’t seem like he and Payton got along well; Payton has made a point of criticizing Wilson this offseason.
To let Wilson go, the Broncos had to take a massive salary cap hit. If they release him with a post-June 1 designation, they can lessen the impact, but they would still incur dead cap penalties of $85 million for each of the 2024 and 2025 seasons.