Ex-NFL scout John Middlekauff has made it clear over the last few months that he’s not a fan of Russell Wilson. He’s right up there with former Denver Broncos offensive lineman Mark Schlereth when it comes to anti-Wilson rhetoric.
Middlekauff made another negative remark about Wilson during a recent appearance on Colin Cowherd’s podcast.
“If I’m a fan and we’re 0-2, I’m not watching Russell Wilson,” Middlekauff told Cowherd. “I’ve seen this from afar. Put in the young kid and let’s see if we could figure something out with this guy that has a lot of physical tools.”
Middlekauff took it a step further and said the Steelers shouldn’t waste their time and just start Justin Fields from the beginning.
“If their defense is good, honestly if I was a Steelers fan, I just wanna see Justin Fields right off. I wouldn’t even wanna see Russell Wilson. Can we resurrect this guy?”
Middlekauff usually has a negative outlook on the Steelers in general. It’s not just Wilson. He’s ripped general manager Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin in the past also. He even said the Steelers should have fired Tomlin after last season.
“They’re basically taking a big swing here with the Russell Wilson and Justin Fields quarterback duo because, I would say (it) probably won’t work, but I completely understand why they did it, and I would have done it too if I were them,” Middlekauff said on his podcast March. “So are they better? Because what they’ve been is like a nine, ten-ish win team. A team that’s immediately out in the playoffs. Not winning any playoff games. Haven’t won one since 2016.”
Tomlin has repeatedly stated this offseason that Wilson is in ‘pole position’ to be the starting quarterback. However, at the same time, he made clear that Fields will be given a fair shot at the position in training camp and the preseason.
Mark Kaboly of The Athletic thinks Fields has ‘zero chance’ of starting Week 1 through winning the competition.
“I just don’t think there’s enough time for that,” Kaboly said on 93.7 the Fan. ““I just don’t think there’s enough time for that. You bring a guy in, you teach him an offense. You are trying to get Russell Wilson ready. I’m not worried about Justin Fields coming in here and trying to battle this guy. I don’t think there’s enough time for him to show what he can do to beat him out…. Zero chance (Fields wins the competition).”