Although Mike Florio presented the possibility that Mike Tomlin could be finished as Pittsburgh Steelers head coach with a loss in the AFC wild card round, he wasn’t ready to state Tomlin is fighting for his job. However, Florio did make that claim with Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson.
Florio argued Wilson will not be back with the Steelers if he loses to the Baltimore Ravens on January 11. Florio added that if he plays poorly, the Ravens matchup could be Wilson’s final NFL game.
“If they lose this game on Saturday night, you think anybody wants Russell Wilson back next year?” Florio asked while appearing on 93.7 The Fan.
“No one’s going to hand him a starting job, and he’s not going to go the Joe Flacco route, where he takes whatever spot he can on the depth chart. He’ll just walk away.”
Florio suggested the Steelers will choose another quarterback reset in the event they lose to the Ravens. That’s what the Steelers did last year after a first-round defeat to the Buffalo Bills.
Steelers’ Russell Wilson Showing ‘Toxic Positivity’?
Wilson has the reputation as one of the most positive players in the NFL. Fans have seen that first hand in HBO’s Hard Knocks over the last month.
But 93.7 The Fan’s Chris Mueller and Andrew Fillipponi argued while having Florio as their guest that Wilson is suffering from toxic positivity.
Toxic positivity is defined as the belief that people should maintain a positive mindset regardless of how dire or difficult a situation is.
Florio agreed that Wilson’s positivity is wearing thin with the Steelers players during the team’s losing streak.
“He can’t not be that way,” Florio added of Wilson’s mindset.
Wilson’s positivity was an asset over a decade with the Seattle Seahawks. But he went 140-53-1 as a starter in Seattle.
Since leaving the Seahawks, Wilson has posted a 17-24 record. He went 6-5 during his first season with the Steelers.
In 11 regular season starts, Wilson completed 63.7% of his passes and averaged 7.4 yards per pass. He also had 16 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.
Could the Steelers Reset at QB Again?
Florio only briefly discussed Justin Fields in his latest appearance on 93.7 The Fan. But he appeared to imply if the Steelers cap this season with a 5-game losing streak, Pittsburgh could allow Fields to leave too.
Week ago, Florio began suggesting the Steelers could pursue 4-time MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
The 41-year-old signal caller just went through arguably the worst season of his career. It’s fair to question whether Rodgers is an upgrade over Wilson or Fields.
But it’s clear that if the Steelers lose to the Ravens, quarterback will come under scrutiny again in Pittsburgh this offseason. That will particularly happen if Wilson and/or Fields play poorly in the playoff game.
On January 4, the Steelers suffered their first 4-game losing streak to end a season since 1998. They have also been “one-and-done” in the playoffs four consecutive times.
The last time the Steelers won a postseason matchup was against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC divisional round during January 2017.
Last offseason, the Steelers allowed Mason Rudolph to leave in free agency, released Mitch Trubisky, and traded Kenny Pickett. To replace them, the team signed Wilson and Kyle Allen then traded for Fields.
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