Broncos Legend Predicts Steelers Will Bench Russell Wilson by Week 6

How long will Russell Wilson maintain his job as the Pittsburgh Steelers' starting quarterback?

Aug 9, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson (3) and Justin Fields (2) take the field for pre-game against the Houston Texans at Acrisure Stadium. / Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

After battling Justin Fields for the Pittsburgh Steelers' starting quarterback job this summer, Russell Wilson emerged victorious. The former Denver Broncos starter will open the season as the Steel City's QB1.

But it didn't seem to be a cut-and-dry decision for the Steelers. Wilson wasn't leaps-and-bounds better than Fields during training camp and the preseason.

The question now becomes how long Wilson will be able to fend off Fields, and forestall the Steelers demoting him to QB2. Former Broncos legend Mark Schlereth sees Wilson being supplanted by Fields during the second quarter of the regular season.

In a recent episode of his Stinkin' Truth Podcast with long-time Denver morning radio co-host Mike Evans, Schlereth pinpointed Week 6 as the date Pittsburgh will make a quarterback change.

“I'm going to say five [games],” Schlereth said. “I just think that the way the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to have to be built, what they’re going to have to build themselves on is the running game and using the quarterback element in the run game.”

What happens next on the Broncos beat? Don't miss out on any news and analysis! Take a second, sign up for our free newsletter, and get breaking Broncos news delivered to your inbox daily!

Wilson's legs used to be one of the hallmarks of his game. And while Broncos Country watched him run around like he was playing backyard football last year, fumbling 10 times along the way, it's clear that the Seattle Seahawks were right about Father Time sapping him of his footspeed.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has never posted a losing season. It hasn't always been pretty, but in the post-Ben Roethlisberger era, Tomlin hasn't allowed the Steelers to become a doormat.

That doesn't mean that the Steelers are playoff-bound now that Wilson is in town — a quarterback who led a Seahawks team to eight postseason berths in 10 years before being traded to Denver. Is Pittsburgh poised to return to the playoffs?

“Do I think they may be able to compete for a playoff spot? Well, yeah," Schlereth said of Pittsburgh, "But the issue is—and this is what got Russ out of Seattle and Russ out of Denver—Russ isn’t willing to admit he’s not good at stuff. He’s delusional. And if you’re not willing to admit it, then you can’t fix it, right? The first step in solving a problem is admitting that you have one."

There were a multitude of reasons that Wilson flamed out in Denver, not the least of which was his diminishing skills in the face of advancing age. He's just not the same player he was all those years in Seattle, and he takes sacks and turns the ball over at a high clip.

But Pittsburgh almost seems to be courting that type of disaster. As Schlereth points out in the very episode above, the two most-sacked NFL quarterbacks over the past two seasons are Wilson and... wait for it... Fields. It doesn't bode well for the Steelers, as we saw during the preseason.

None of this changes what is shaping up to be a big revenge game in Week 2 when the Steelers come to Denver. Barring an injury or some unforeseen catastrophe in Week 1, Wilson will be Pittsburgh's starting quarterback in Week 2.

Wilson vs. Bo Nix and Sean Payton. The headlines will write themselves.

---

Follow Mile High Huddle on X and Facebook and subscribe on YouTube for daily Broncos live-stream podcasts!