At this point, it might be obvious to say and write. In some loose ways, Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers have framed a competition between Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. Wilson is the front-runner in pole position or whatever other term Tomlin and the world want to use. But the team has kept the door open for Fields, who is entering with the correct mindset of pushing Wilson for the job.
On paper, that framing should carry over into training camp, with a starter not officially named until shortly before Week 1. But it feels like a farce — one we just went through in the summer of 2022 when the team sold a “battle” between Mitch Trubisky, Kenny Pickett, and Mason Rudolph.
In reality, it was anything but a battle. Trubisky was the wire-to-wire starter, the free agent signing touted for his pedigree and experience. Although Trubisky wasn’t officially named the team’s starter until September and Tomlin danced around the question until that point, the writing was on the wall. Unless Trubisky got hurt or massively underperformed in the preseason, chucking balls into the third row and handing passes to cornerbacks, he was going to start. His rope was ultimately short, benched four games in, but his initial starting spot was clear.
The same applies now. Wilson is the vet who came before the backup Fields. Pittsburgh values his experience and leadership to steady the ship of a young offense in transition. Fields, in their view, needs time and seasoning. Unless Wilson simply isn’t healthy enough or completely falls off in the summer, he’s the starter. And there’s little Fields can do to change that, even though I think — and this is a point for a separate post — he will have a strong preseason that will earn starting buzz.
Even if not official, Wilson has acted as the starter. He’s held the press conferences, he organized the workouts, he took the linemen to Pirates and Penguins games. He’s at the podium after practice, Fields is at his locker.
Inevitably, there will be summer storylines about the camp “battle.” And the performance of both quarterbacks will take centerstage for right and true reasons. Pittsburgh needs a quarterback, and Wilson and Fields have plenty on the line, free agents after the season.
I think we all know the answer. I think Tomlin does. I think Wilson does. Fields, maybe not, and his mentality of pushing to be the starter is a healthy one. But it’s hard to imagine any non-injury scenario in which Fields opens as the starter in Atlanta. How things look by Week 13 is a different story. But until then, I’ll act like Wilson is the definite, cemented starter.
Even if the team isn’t saying so.
