Though Rich Eisen surmises Russell Wilson will begin 2024 as the Pittsburgh Steelers starting quarterback, it doesn’t prevent a quarterback controversy. Or, at the least, the team exploring ways to get Justin Fields on the field. Opining about the Steelers’ quarterback situation on his Wednesday Rich Eisen Show, he believes Mike Tomlin will be peppered with questions about the “battle” all summer.
“Over/under on the number of days into training camp, Mike Tomlin will stare down somebody who asks him for an update on the quarterback competition race,” Eisen said.
Wilson is in “pole position” on the Steelers’ depth chart, the team’s current starter if the season began today. That should remain throughout the spring and into the summer. But Tomlin and the team have left the door open for Fields to compete at some point, though the team hasn’t been specific when that’ll be.
Eisen’s point is accurate. On some day, either following a practice or a game, there will be chatter about the horserace. Is it Wilson, or is it Fields? Maybe that’s because Wilson has a poor showing. Maybe that’s because Fields was dynamic. Maybe both things occur. But it all ends in the same discussion about who should start.
Fields will compete against backup defenses this summer. He will flash because of it, and that will create buzz.
We wrote about this concept shortly after the team traded for Fields, acknowledging the media perception that a battle will take place at some point during the season. The only way it doesn’t is if someone gets seriously injured, leaving Pittsburgh with only one option. Eisen, like many others, advocated for the Steelers to find a way to get Fields on the field even as the No. 2 quarterback.
“If Russ wins this battle, there’s gotta be a Justin Fields package,” Eisen said. “There has to be. Why wouldn’t they? He is truly one of the most lethal packages that are out there.”
The team’s interest in trying that remains to be seen, though it’s been hinted at a few times. An elite runner on par with Lamar Jackson, Fields has rushed for over 2,200 yards and 14 touchdowns in his three NFL seasons. It’ll be hard to keep a dynamic like that glued to the bench all season, especially given the impact it’ll have on how defenses are forced to prepare for the Steelers offense. Perhaps returning kicks was jumping the shark, but a Wildcat package in short-yardage or goal-line situations is plausible. If Fields succeeds there, Eisen thinks the conversation will shift to replacing Wilson.
“And then why not start him? I think that this is gonna be part of the mix, don’t you? You think it’s just gonna be Russ, and he’ll just be standing there with an ear button in his ear with a 1,000-yard rushing season behind him?”
If the Steelers have that kind of plan, they won’t tip their hand in the spring. They may not even show much of it in training camp, though a couple of reps are likely. And any sign of using Fields behind “normal” quarterback operations will draw attention, leaving the media drum to keep on thumping.
