It’s Time for Russell Wilson To Retire, Pittsburgh Steelers Should Roll With Justin Fields

It might be time for you to hang up those cleats, Russell Wilson.

Following two underwhelming seasons with the Denver Broncos, Wilson signed a one-year, $1.2 million contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers back in March to try and bring his career back to life. He certainly ended up reviving a career—it just wasn’t his own.

A calf injury has kept Wilson on the sideline for the first four weeks of the season, and Pittsburgh has turned to Justin Fields in his absence. Like Wilson, Fields was in need of a change of scenery, and he too got it when the Steelers sent a 2025 sixth-round draft pick to the Chicago Bears this past offseason in exchange for the 25-year-old. 

Fields, selected 11th overall by Chicago in the 2021 draft, clearly never reached his full potential in his three seasons with the Bears. His dual-threat capabilities have been on full display with Pittsburgh, though, as he has thrown for three touchdowns and rushed for three more while leading the Steelers to a 3-1 record.

Before landing in the Steel City, Fields had never completed more than 61.4 percent of his passes in a single season. As he prepares to start once again for a Week 5 meeting with the Dallas Cowboys, Fields has hit on 77 of 109 passes (70.6 percent) and has only been picked off once.

It may have taken four years, but Fields is officially worthy of being an NFL starter. And Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin better think twice before taking that title away from him. 

When and if Wilson does get the green light to return, he better be planning on throwing on that headset and getting real friendly with Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith over the airwaves. 

This isn’t the Russell Wilson who was in his late-20s and early-30s propelling the Seattle Seahawks to winning season after winning season. This is far from it. This is a backup quarterback on NFL hospice.

If Wilson expects Pittsburgh to be the final stop on his NFL journey, he might as well call it a career right now. Fields is still young, and if he continues to perform at this level, there’s zero reason for Tomlin to make a change. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, as they say. 

There are, however, plenty of teams across the league that could benefit from Wilson’s services. The Miami Dolphins are probably at the top of that list, with the Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans serving as honorable mentions.

Never seeing Wilson take a snap in a Steelers uniform is a very real possibility at this point. Perhaps we don’t even see him step onto a field ever again—anywhere.

Let’s not forget that Wilson is playing for the veteran’s minimum. That’s not a contract that you give a guy who is planning to stay in the league for much longer. If we had to guess, Wilson, 35, was banking on this potentially being his final season all along. Now it’s just going to be a lot shorter than expected.

So, congratulations to Fields. Pittsburgh is his team now, and there isn’t going to be anything Wilson can do to change that.