Russell Wilson set to take Justin Fields' job in shocking turn of events

Just when you thought you had the NFL figured out, the 2-4 Las Vegas Raiders make a blockbuster trade with the 2-4 New York Jets for Davante Adams, and the 4-2 Pittsburgh Steelers make a change at the quarterback position despite scoring 32 points in their most recent win. Oh, and the Steelers and Jets are set to face off against each other in Week 7 of the 2024 NFL season. Denver Broncos fans will watch with great intrigue as Russell Wilson is (somewhat shockingly) set to make his starting debut.

Wilson was the QB2 for the Steelers this past week as Pittsburgh ran all over the Las Vegas Raiders, and it was widely assumed that Wilson would be backing up Justin Fields until Fields ended up screwing things up badly enough to justify a quarterback change.

But according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, no screwing up was needed. Russ is taking Fields's job anyway.

Russell Wilson shockingly taking over Steelers QB1 position in Week 7

Despite the fact that Russell Wilson was previously named the 'starter' for the Steelers, this news still comes as a general shock to most.

Wilson has been dealing with a calf issue since the beginning of Steelers training camp in July. Despite the calf issue, he still made his Steelers debut in the preseason and looked pretty similar to what we had seen the last couple of years in Denver. He's been working his way back to full health and now that he's been medically cleared, the Steelers are giving him a shot to prove he can lead their team.

The question at this point is obvious -- why?

What are the Steelers doing here? Justin Fields has completed over 66 percent of his passes with five touchdowns and just one interception. He's also added a dynamic as a runner -- as we all would expect -- by running for 231 yards and five touchdowns. His quarterback rating of 93.9 is the highest it's ever been. Most importantly, the Steelers are 4-2 and tied for first place in the AFC North with the Baltimore Ravens.

So what gives? When is the last time anything like this happened, where a quarterback and team were both playing well and winning games and the team made a quarterback change anyway?

Fields gives the Steelers a better option for the longer-term than does Russell Wilson. The Steelers are paying Wilson the veteran minimum, so it's not like this is a financially-driven decision, either. This move is just weird and is going to make Mike Tomlin and his staff look really bad if it doesn't work immediately.

You can't help but wonder how a move like this is going to be received in the locker room. How is it going to be received by Fields, who has done nothing to warrant losing the job?

No matter what the fallout is of this decision by the Steelers, you can bet everyone in Broncos Country will be watching with great interest.