Steelers' Russell Wilson Not Likely To Be Traded During The 2024 Season

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been riding with Justin Fields for the 2024 season and currently sit at 4-2. While Fields has been far from perfect, most analysts feel that Head Coach Mike Tomlin will continue to stick with him, at least for the immediate future, over Super Bowl winner Russell Wilson. As of Tuesday afternoon, those sentiments have changed.

Wilson, who was anointed with "pole position" before the season began, was injured at the start of training camp. This opened the door for Fields, who was expected to ride the bench behind Wilson for most of the season. This has raised questions about what to do with Wilson. Should they keep him in case Fields really flounders or gets injured, or should they use him as trade bait to get something they need even more, like a wide receiver? Wilson will now be splitting first-team reps at practice ahead of the Week 7 matchup against the New York Jets.

Recently, The Insiders weighed in about Tomiln's plans for Wilson's future ahead of the Steelers 'Week 6 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders. Tom Pelissero of NFL Network said in a video posted on X that even though Fields and the Steelers lost two weeks in a row, he doesn't think a trade of Wilson is something they are seriously considering.

"With Justin Fields, he is beloved in that locker room," said Pelissero. "They got off to a 3-0 start with him in that lineup, and still, there remains a feeling that we might see Wilson at some point in the coming weeks, especially with the calf having been healed for a while now. There have been trade talks surrounding Russell Wilson, but I don't get the sense there would really be an appetite to trade him even if the phone rings."

Wilson was active in Week 6 as the backup quarterback for the first time this season. The Steelers were not forced to bring him in, as they had to do in Week 5 when Fields took a big hit, and Kyle Allen came in to relieve him while the medical staff checked him out. 

Despite another slow start, the Steelers scored over 30 points and beat the Raiders 32-13. There is little doubt that Fields was a major contributor to that win. He can use his legs to pick up yardage that many think Wilson wouldn't be able to. There is also a belief that Fields could potentially be the future of the organization, and benching him now just to test out Wilson doesn't make sense. 

Many believe that Wilson will unleash his PR team to launch a campaign to get him traded to another team. However, Wilson does have a no-trade clause in his contract with the Steelers, so he would need to get rid of it.

Steelers' Russell Wilson Took A Direct Shot

Wilson came to the Steelers during the 2024 offseason because he had been pushed out of the Denver Broncos franchise. Wilson took the Seattle Seahawks to two Super Bowls, but eventually, things soured, and Wilson developed a reputation as a diva. 

That reputation followed him to Denver, and their Head Coach, Sean Payton, didn't want to proceed with him. Recently, Colin Cowherd read into some comments that Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith made about Fields and his professionalism. Smith said that he has really enjoyed working with him, that he brings "no drama," and that is why he is so well loved by his teammates. 

In his mind, Cowherd saw this as a "direct shot" at Wilson. He said that Pete Carroll wanted him out of Seattle, Payton wanted him out of Denver, and now Smith doesn't want to work with him in Pittsburgh.  

Do you think the Steelers should or will trade Wilson? Click to comment below. 

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