About a week ago, the Steelers named Russell Wilson their starting quarterback. The decision wasn't all that surprising considering the context of Wilson's arrival in Pittsburgh, but it was seemingly a lot closer than anyone expected it to be. From most reports, Justin Fields put up a hell of a fight for the QB1 job, and at one point during the middle of the preseason it kinda looked like it was his job to lose.
Ultimately the Steelers decided to give Wilson the job – that's life when you have the credentials that he does – and yet, it doesn't realllllllllly feel like anyone's overly confident about the decision. In fact, it kinda just feels like everyone's patiently waiting for whenever Pittsburgh decides to make the inevitable decision to switch – and according to one very-plugged-in NFL Insider, that could be a lot sooner than anyone thinks.
Albert Breer "wouldn't be surprised" to see Fields start as soon as Week 5
In his weekly NFL column, Breer hits on a number of topics that don't really have anything to do with one another. (The notebook format taking off is an underrated all-time huge moment for sports journalists.) After a bunch of Brandon Aiyuk details that sufficiently proves to everyone that Breer knows people who knows people, the Insider offers some interesting opinions about Fields, and what his immediate future in Pittsburgh looks like.
"Bottom line: This isn’t anyone’s first rodeo in Pittsburgh, and Fields took some fundamental changes that the offensive coaches gave him (one being a return to the type of footwork he’d used at Ohio State), and really worked on them over the past few weeks of camp. It was enough to have some folks internally push for Fields to start ... And if that leads Fields to starting in Week 5 or 8 or 12, I wouldn’t be surprised."
So, to sum it up: Breer wouldn't be surprised if the Steelers make a QB change either one month, two months, or three months into the season. Analysis! This reporting does line up with a lot of the stuff coming out of Pittsburgh, and all snark (fine, some snark) aside, Breer obviously does know people who know people.
This all just makes you very happy that the Bears don't have to worry about QB dynamics for at least four years. No one would be surprised to see Fields starting for the Steelers at some point this season, but just know that, because of who Albert Breer knows, he'll be the least surprised. See you all in Week 5, or 8, or 12.