Russell Wilson is the Pittsburgh Steelers’ current starter. He’s acting like it. Justin Fields is right behind, ready to push him the whole way. That’s exactly what this team wanted. Exactly what this team needed. And if it continues, this quarterback competition will make both, and this offense, better.
Granted, it’s just one day into OTAs. It’s May. Hope springs eternal across all 32 teams. How things look in January is where the process and season will be judged. But right now, Wilson and Fields are saying and doing the right things to create a healthy competition.
Competition is good. The Steelers have always embraced it. Let players battle, have the starter a little scared about his job, have the backup hungry to keep climbing. This certainly isn’t a Steelers’ offense that’s earned the right to be complacent. No one can or should rest on their laurels. But things don’t seem toxic. Wilson, even if he’s the NFL equivalent of a politician who just always knows what to say to every wonderful question asked, is embracing Fields’ presence.
“We used to text each other all the time and everything, and now we’re in the same room,” Wilson told reporters following Tuesday’s practice. “So every day, I’m trying to be my best so I can also show him and vice versa. And we just continue to challenge one another. Be the best version we can be for this football team.”
Wilson has displayed leadership from the moment that he signed with the Steelers. The first to call players who sign or get drafted. Introducing himself to everyone in the locker room. Taking the o-line to Pirates games, scheduling a workout with the receivers. How well his actions will be received, leader or corny, will ultimately depend on how well he plays. That’s true of anyone. But he’s setting the right tone to help a young offense find its footing.
Including Fields. He’s the current backup but not content to stay there. It isn’t alpha or arrogant. Fields has been a starter his NFL career and his goal isn’t standing on a sideline holding a clipboard. If he had any other mentality, that would be the problem. And Fields is learning from Wilson, watching him work and focus on the details, in an effort to become a better quarterback. Fields’ issue isn’t raw talent. It’s finding consistency in technique and approach.
Wilson is acting like a leader and starter because he currently is. Because he always has been. Fields is acting like the backup with the chip on his shoulder waiting for his chance without creating a destructive relationship. It’s not protagonist versus antagonist. It’s student versus master.
Pittsburgh’s months away from needing to sort out the depth chart. Who starts, who sits, and if Fields is the backup, what kind of role or package – if any – the team could create for him. This thing could end up in a number of different ways, good and bad, throughout the season. But the approach Wilson and Fields are taking to their jobs is the right one and will serve them and the team well.
