During his season-ending press conference, Mike Tomlin said he was still in the process of unearthing what led to the Steelers' five-game losing streak to close out the 2024 season. Just before and shortly following Tomlin's presser, two reports have come out that have done just that, likely to the head coach's chagrin.
The latest report (which follows a previous one stating wide receiver George Pickens was late to the team's Week 17 loss to the Chiefs) states that Pittsburgh offensive coordinator and quarterback Russell Wilson "did not have a very good working relationship but fought through their differences as best they could," according to Mark Kaboly of The Pat McAfee Show. Unsubstantiated reports surfaced during the regular season that Smith preferred Justin Fields over Wilson, who took over as Pittsburgh's starting quarterback after Fields helped lead the Steelers to a 4-2 start.
Wilson won six of his first seven starts in Pittsburgh, but he and the rest of the offense wilted during the five-game losing streak. The offense failed to score more than 17 points in each game over that span. Wilson's play over that period was sporadic at best. He continued to have some success on his "moon" balls, but it became clear Wilson's game was predicated on deep throws and check downs.
And after running for 55 yards and a score in a Week 15 loss to the Ravens, Wilson's mobility was also a complete non-factor during Pittsburgh's final two games. An example of this occurred at the end of Pittsburgh's first drive during Saturday's loss to the Ravens in the wild-card round. On a third-and-6 play, Wilson decided to scramble after seeing an opening. He was brought down two yards short of the sticks, however, after he was caught by 33-year-old linebacker Kyle Van Noy, thus forcing the first Steelers punt of the night.
Based on Kaboly's report, in addition to how the season ended, it would appear that Fields has the upper hand when it comes to re-signing with Pittsburgh and getting an opportunity to be the franchise's starting quarterback in 2025. Tomlin himself said on Tuesday that Fields has proven himself capable of being a starting quarterback.
Smith said something similar of Fields in November after Wilson replaced him in the starting lineup.
"I still view Justin and he is, I think, [a] premium starter in this league," Smith said at the time.
At this point, though, neither Fields nor Wilson is under contract for next season, so the Steelers will need to act quickly when it comes to making a decision at quarterback before free agency begins in March.
And while he is still under contract for two more years, Smith is interviewing for the Jets' and Bears' vacant head coaching positions this week. If he does not get either job, Smith will return to Pittsburgh, where he is surely hoping to have a more definitive quarterback situation this time around.
