Pittsburgh Steelers make decision that impacts Chicago Bears

“[Russell Wilson] is in consideration this week. We’ll see where that leads us,” he said.

Tomlin later added: “I’ll acknowledge that Russ proved his health last week, and we’re looking hard at him this week. It is up for consideration.”

The timing is also crucial in all of this, especially for the Chicago Bears and their future draft picks as a deal to the Steelers included a condition for the pick.

How this Justin Fields benching impacts the Chicago Bears

When the Bears traded Justin Fields to Pittsburgh this offseason, they received a sixth-round pick back in the deal with a condition. If Justin Fields plays 51 percent of the snaps the pick becomes a fourth-round pick. So far, Fields has played 100% of the offensive snaps through Week 6. So he wouldn’t qualify if he doesn’t play another snap.

Tomlin even praised Fields’ play through the first six weeks:

“Justin has been really good, and we’ve been good at times, but not to be confused with great,” Tomlin told reporters on Tuesday when asked why

Fields had not done enough to be named starter despite a 4-2 record.

“This is a competitive league, man. We’re trying to position ourselves to be that team, and we’ve got a player with talent, who hadn’t have an opportunity to play, so we’re going to explore those things. Sometimes it doesn’t have anything to do with what Justin has done or has not done. Justin has been an asset to us. Last week, for example, his ability to utilize his legs by design and by ad lib was a significant component of that game. He rushed for 50-plus yards and two touchdowns. … We’re appreciative of that.

We’re appreciative of how he’s taken care of the ball. But we’re just looking at all of the people at our disposal. The same way we do at any position.”

The question for Tomlin is whether he believes losing the dynamic rushing element Fields provides might be worth it if Wilson can bring more to the passing attack. It’s also possible the Steelers could utilize both QBs Sunday night against the Jets, something that Tomlin did not rule out on Tuesday.