When Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin addresses the media on Friday, we should have our answer as to whether it is Russell Wilson or Justin Fields starting versus the New York Jets this Sunday night. Tomlin said on Tuesday he was leaving the option open for Wilson now that he is 100 percent healthy.
It might seem insane for Tomlin to sit Fields down after going 4-2 as a starter and scoring 10 total touchdowns. But there might be a method to his madness. Just hear me out.
The Jets are a bad football team. They just fired their head coach last week after an awful start. Tomlin could view this game at home in prime time as a very winnable game and he can afford to play Wilson if the team is planning to trade one of their starting quarterbacks before the November 5 trade deadline.
If the team wants to trade Fields, why not start Wilson this week just to see what you have and be sure it’s safe to deal Fields. Or maybe the team wants to trade Wilson and wants to give him a game to show out and make an impression on a prospective team.