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Steelers Predicted to Replace Russell Wilson With 84-Touchdown Star Quarterback

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Sean Deveney | Last updated Dec 21, 2024 9:54 PM ET

For the Steelers, the thrill of the 4-2 start the team established under Justin Fields and the subesequent four-game winning streak that followed once veteran Russell Wilson took over at quarterback has faded into a difficult reality. The Steelers, it seems, are a good team but without a top-of-the-line quarterback, they'll never be great.

Both Fields and Wilson have been pleasant surprises this season. But following Saturday's loss to the Ravens--a convincing, 34-17 defeat--Pittsburgh has now lost three of five and has shown it can't quite hang with the top teams in the game. This week it was one AFC contender, Baltimore, while last week it was an NFC contender, the Eagles.

Fields and Wilson were both brought in as stopgap options with a chance to stick around if things went well. It's become clear that, moving forward, the Steelers are unlikely to bring back Fields, but could keep Wilson around--with the understanding that he is 36 years old and the Steelers need to draft or sign a better young option.

At Fox Sports, the site's recent mock draft has the Steelers getting especially lucky with one of the top quarterbacks in the college game slipping to them in the teens. That would be Miami quarterback Cam Ward, predicted to be the No. 1 overall pick in the draft in some circles.

Ward led the nation in touchdown passes this seaosn with 36, bringing his impressive career total ot 84, after having registered two good years at Washington State. He thrwe for 4,123 yards on the season and was the ACC Player of the Year.

As analyst Rob Rang, the mock's architect wrote, in predicting Ward to Pittsburgh: "The Steelers success this season while rotating quarterbacks is commendable, but with both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields pending free agents, the club has little choice but to be evaluating this year’s rookie crop. Agile, instinctive and accurate, Ward could be a fun fit should Pittsburgh decide to draft and develop a young quarterback."

If the Steelers were to get a quarterback of Ward's quality in the 2025 draft, it would raise some questions about how long Wilson would be expected to stay. The plan, no doubt, would be to make Ward the starter in place of Wilson sooner rather than late--but would Wilson want to re-sign in Pittsbrugh for one year when he might have multi-year offers elsewhere?

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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