After Pittsburgh Steelers lost their final preseason game 24-17 to the Detroit Lions, and the team has yet to decide whether she will play quarterback. Russell Wilson or Justin Fields starting. The team could announce its decision soon enough, but the former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III shared a possible worst-case scenario for Fields.
During a recent appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, Griffin III made a forecast This may cause some concern among fans.
“If you put Justin Fields in first and he goes out there and plays poorly for five games, his career as a starter is over. I think Mike Tomlin has figured that out. He'll probably say in front of the media, 'This is an open competition,' because that's what you have to do as a head coach. He knew from the beginning who he wanted to start, if it was Russell Wilson, and I don't think there's a problem with that,” the former quarterback explained.
Who will start for the Steelers?
It's easy to understand Robert Griffin III's logic in his Justin Fields prediction, especially if you think about it from a coach's perspective. Wilson may not be a named starter anymore, but Mike Tomlin has not announced his choice as of Monday. However, he could reportedly do so by the end of next week.
In the preseason finale Fields talks about building chemistry with offense.
“They played well, but there's still room for improvement. So we'll just look at the mistakes we made and where we could have played better and been better,” Fields said.
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Meanwhile, Griffin III also suggested that Tomlin, by keeping the competition between Russell Wilson and Justin Fields going throughout the Steelers' preseason, should keep the latter from losing confidence heading into next season.
First, Wilson is a Super Bowl champion and simply has more professional experience. Tomlin might want to lean on the veteran early in the season rather than throwing the young quarterback into the fire right away.
Replacing Fields with Wilson during the season, especially if the young quarterback is struggling, will hurt his confidence and could hinder his development. However, replacing Wilson with Fields will allow the young player to spark the Steelers offense with his athletic ability.
However, managing locker room egos is part of a coach's job. For example, Sean Payton may have to respond to Jarrett Stidham's Disappointment V loss of QB1 duties to Bo NixPerhaps Tomlin is thinking about how to keep his team's chemistry intact.