About a month ago, Mike Tomlin said Russell Wilson had “pole position” in the battle for the starting quarterback job in Pittsburgh.
Since then, that quote has been dissected in every single way possible. How much of a racing fan is Mike Tomlin? How long is this hypothetical race between Wilson and challenger Justin Fields?
I’m no racing aficionado myself, but from my brief time watching NASCAR as a little kid I do remember that over hundreds of laps, having pole position didn’t end up mattering all that much. So then, is it a secret way for Tomlin to say the competition is fairly wide open?
“I don’t watch a whole lot of auto racing but guys who win the pole position don’t always win the race. I think the door’s open and you know what’s gonna happen?” Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio said Wednesday on 93.7 The Fan. “The minute that the fans sense that Justin Fields is better than Russell Wilson, it is gonna be a massive story. And they’re gonna be chanting [for Fields]… Justin Fields specifically wanted the Steelers even after Russell Wilson went there. Fields has shown me enough to think he could become a solid starting quarterback.”
At the beginning of the offseason, there seemed to be a handful of suitors for Fields, but one by one, they dried up. It had initially seemed like Fields would be primed for a starting role outside of Chicago, but with each team that passed on trading for him, those odds went lower and lower. He eventually had to settle for a trade to Pittsburgh where it’s unclear how much of a chance he has.
Florio does remind us of one interesting tidbit: Justin Fields still wanted to come to Pittsburgh after Wilson was already on the roster. Maybe he was all out of options and just wanted out of Chicago, but the way he has carried himself in Pittsburgh makes me think differently. Fields seem to believe he has a chance to beat out Wilson, and not in the false confidence way that players so often express.
The question is then naturally posed: can Fields win this job, or does Wilson have to lose it? If Fields is amazing all training camp and Wilson looks about as expected, is that enough? Or would Wilson have to essentially crash and burn for Fields to get a fair look? Only Mike Tomlin has the answers, but based on what experts are saying I think there is more of a competition brewing than initially though
