Sports
It’s Time for Russell Wilson To Retire, Pittsburgh Steelers Should Roll With Justin Fields
It might be time for you to hang up those cleats, Russell Wilson.
Following two underwhelming seasons with the Denver Broncos, Wilson signed a one-year, $1.2 million contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers back in March to try and bring his career back to life. He certainly ended up reviving a career—it just wasn’t his own.
A calf injury has kept Wilson on the sideline for the first four weeks of the season, and Pittsburgh has turned to Justin Fields in his absence. Like Wilson, Fields was in need of a change of scenery, and he too got it when the Steelers sent a 2025 sixth-round draft pick to the Chicago Bears this past offseason in exchange for the 25-year-old.
Fields, selected 11th overall by Chicago in the 2021 draft, clearly never reached his full potential in his three seasons with the Bears. His dual-threat capabilities have been on full display with Pittsburgh, though, as he has thrown for three touchdowns and rushed for three more while leading the Steelers to a 3-1 record.
Before landing in the Steel City, Fields had never completed more than 61.4 percent of his passes in a single season. As he prepares to start once again for a Week 5 meeting with the Dallas Cowboys, Fields has hit on 77 of 109 passes (70.6 percent) and has only been picked off once.
It may have taken four years, but Fields is officially worthy of being an NFL starter. And Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin better think twice before taking that title away from him.
When and if Wilson does get the green light to return, he better be planning on throwing on that headset and getting real friendly with Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith over the airwaves.
This isn’t the Russell Wilson who was in his late-20s and early-30s propelling the Seattle Seahawks to winning season after winning season. This is far from it. This is a backup quarterback on NFL hospice.
If Wilson expects Pittsburgh to be the final stop on his NFL journey, he might as well call it a career right now. Fields is still young, and if he continues to perform at this level, there’s zero reason for Tomlin to make a change. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, as they say.
There are, however, plenty of teams across the league that could benefit from Wilson’s services. The Miami Dolphins are probably at the top of that list, with the Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans serving as honorable mentions.
Never seeing Wilson take a snap in a Steelers uniform is a very real possibility at this point. Perhaps we don’t even see him step onto a field ever again—anywhere.
Let’s not forget that Wilson is playing for the veteran’s minimum. That’s not a contract that you give a guy who is planning to stay in the league for much longer. If we had to guess, Wilson, 35, was banking on this potentially being his final season all along. Now it’s just going to be a lot shorter than expected.
So, congratulations to Fields. Pittsburgh is his team now, and there isn’t going to be anything Wilson can do to change that.
Sports
Astros put RHP Spencer Arrighetti (foot) on 15-day IL
Jul 8, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Houston Astros pitcher Spencer Arrighetti (41) throws a pitch against the Washington Nationals during the second inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images In the thick of the American League West and AL wild-card races, the Houston Astros placed right-handed starter Spencer Arrighetti on the 15-day injured list Saturday with nerve irritation in his foot.
Arrighetti, 26, left Friday’s start against the Chicago White Sox after one inning and 33 pitches due to the foot issue.
In a corresponding move, Houston recalled left-handed reliever Bryan King from Triple-A Sugar Land.
In 17 starts this season, Arrighetti is 7-5 with a 4.60 ERA, allowing six or more earned runs in three of his final four starts before the All-Star break. The 2021 sixth-round pick, who debuted with Houston in 2024, is 15-23 with a 4.66 ERA in 53 games (52 starts).
The 29-year-old King has made 42 relief appearances with the Astros in 2026, posting a 2-3 record with a 3.40 ERA. Across his three MLB seasons, all with Houston, he is 8-7 with a 2.91 ERA in 138 relief outings.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Athletics activate star Nick Kurtz (thumb) from IL
![Detroit Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler (13) takes first base as Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz (16) misses a catch during the first inning] at Comerica Park in Detroit on Wednesday, July 8, 2026.](https://dailyfacthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/29355296.jpg)
Detroit Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler (13) takes first base as Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz (16) misses a catch during the first inning] at Comerica Park in Detroit on Wednesday, July 8, 2026. The Athletics activated All-Star first baseman Nick Kurtz from the 10-day injured list prior to Saturday’s road game against the Minnesota Twins.
Kurtz sustained a right thumb capsule sprain and was placed on the IL on July 10 and the injury forced him to miss the All-Star Game. He had been elevated to American League starter when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (back) of the Toronto Blue Jays backed out.
Kurtz is batting second and serving as the designated hitter on Saturday.
Kurtz exited a 6-1 loss at Detroit on July 8 after 1 1/2 innings after he appeared to hurt the hand while trying to field a throw in the bottom of the first. The following day, he was the designated hitter and went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in a 4-1 loss to the Tigers.
Kurtz, 23, is batting .266 with 20 homers and 66 RBIs in 92 games. He was the unanimous 2025 AL Rookie of the Year with a .290 batting average, 36 home runs and 86 RBIs in just 117 games.
Third baseman Max Muncy was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas in a corresponding move. He was recalled by the A’s earlier this week and went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts in two games.
Muncy, 23, is batting .223 with five homers and 20 RBIs over 48 games. He has a .218 average in 111 big league games over the past two campaigns.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Davis Alexander, Alouettes look to extend East cushion vs. Tiger-Cats
Nov 16, 2025; Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Montreal Alouettes quarterback Davis Alexander (10) looks to pass during the fourth quarter against the Saskatchewan Roughriders during the 112th Grey Cup Championship at Princess Auto Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Fedyck-Imagn Images With a healthy Davis Alexander at the controls, the Montreal Alouettes have a chance to run away with the East Division pretty quickly.
When Montreal hosts the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday night, it has a chance to take a three-game lead and earn the tiebreaker with a victory.
Most of that is because Alexander has – to this point – stayed off the injured list after playing just eight games last year due to a hamstring injury. Alexander has rolled up huge numbers for the Als (5-1), passing for 2,181 yards and 11 touchdowns while setting a new CFL record by throwing 336 straight passes without an interception.
Head coach Jason Maas said he and Alexander came to an understanding that he had to curb his scrambling style to be of maximum use to the club.
“He’s very smart about how he plays and what he decides to do,” Maas said. “There’s a reason he has played (six) straight games. These things, after you’ve had one, they can reoccur and it takes a lot of time to get over them.”
While Montreal is soaring with its quarterback at 100 percent, Hamilton (3-3) got back into the win column last week when its third starting quarterback in three weeks gave the offense a big lift in a 24-23 win over Toronto.
Tre Ford hit on 21 of 27 passes for 218 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 109 yards on 10 attempts. The Tiger-Cats struggled mightily on offense in back-to-back losses to Winnipeg and Saskatchewan, largely because star QB Bo Levi Mitchell broke his ankle in the third quarter against Winnipeg.
“Using my legs is going to be an asset for my team,” said Ford, a former starter in Edmonton before being benched last year for Cody Fajardo. “Having legs definitely helps … being able to extend plays, run around and get first downs.”
It was really helpful last week when tackles Trevor Reid and Quinton Barrow left with injuries, forcing rookie tight end Max Mang into emergency duty as a guard.
–Field Level Media
Astros put RHP Spencer Arrighetti (foot) on 15-day IL
Athletics activate star Nick Kurtz (thumb) from IL
