ESPN insider floats idea that Russell Wilson might never play a down for Steelers

About a quarter of the way through the season, and the Pittsburgh Steelers are in great shape. Though they're coming off a loss in Week 4, this is a team that should feel strongly about how they've begun the year and where things are headed.

If this team is currently 3-1 and even potentially in a spot where they could be in the market to add a top-tier weapon to their offense prior to the trade deadline, fans should be feeling mighty confident.

Everybody wants to talk about the recent trade rumors regarding Davante Adams, Amari Cooper or potentially another notable wide receiver addition, which is a pleasant change from the long-standing chatter in reference to the quarterback position.

It feels like we're at the point where there is no longer a quarterback controversy, and to be quite honest, there were plenty of fans who weren't sure the team would get here. Yet, Justin Fields has completely won the team over and is playing excellent football overall.

Pittsburgh is thriving under Fields' leadership and play, which could be bad news for Russell Wilson.

Recently, ESPN insiders Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano covered the Steelers' quarterback room and its current standing in their recent column. But, the road to get to this topic wasn't a positive one.

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One of the big questions in this piece was who the most disappointing offseason addition has been, in all of football thus far, to which Graziano wrote:

"It has to be Russell Wilson, right? He hasn't even played for the Steelers, and the way Justin Fields is coming along, he might not!"

Those are some strong words, on one hand. But, on the other? Graziano is right.

Russell Wilson never playing a down for the Steelers would be best-case scenario

Let's think about it a little further, here. It doesn't take much to see where Graziano is coming from. IN a perfect world, Fields continues to play well. He continues to develop and polish his skills under Mike Tomlin and Arthur Smith. This leads the Steelers to a successful season, overall, and a playoff berth.

Who knows, maybe they take this thing far into the postseason behind Fields.

Logically, that would mean Wilson never even sees the field and, quite frankly, that would be the best-case scenario for Pittsburgh.

It's not like the Steelers invested a whole lot into Wilson, either. Tomlin gave Wilson the benefit of the doubt, starting out as the team's QB1 during the offseason. But, because of Wilson's injury, it opened the door for Fields to step in.

And, the Steelers gave up more for Fields (a sixth-round pick that looks like it'll turn into a fourth-round selection for Chicago) than they did to acquire Wilson on a minimum deal.

At this point, Pittsburgh has no other choice but to continue riding Fields so long as he's playing well. It is literally what's best for everyone involved, and it would mean an investment that's paid off plentifully for the organization.