Russell Wilson missed the first four practices of training camp with a minor calf issue suffered during Wednesday’s conditioning test while he was pushing a weighted sled. That has created a big opportunity for Justin Fields to run with the first-team offense. Given the division of labor throughout spring practices, Fields might have received very few first-team opportunities otherwise.
Has he made the most of these reps, or at least done enough to make Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ decision makers question their “pole position” stance on Wilson? ESPN insider Dan Graziano thinks so.
“It’s easy to listen to the chatter around this situation and just assume Wilson has it all sewed up, but after visiting Steelers camp and talking to people there, I am not so sure,” Graziano wrote in an article on ESPN. “Pittsburgh isn’t financially committed to either guy in any significant way…In that way, this is a unique quarterback competition that could absolutely still go either way — especially if Wilson misses more practice time and Fields gets a better chance than expected to close this race.
“It’s more of a coin flip than most think.”
Graziano ultimately predicts that Fields wins the competition.
I am not so sure if I agree that the needle has moved in the direction of Fields much over these four days of practice. It is obviously a better situation for him than if Wilson were healthy to start camp, but Tomlin said that Wilson is expected to start working in team sessions this week when the pads come on. Fields got to captain the boat for the equivalent of four OTA or minicamp practices, and the team got plenty of looks at Wilson in that environment throughout the spring.
Fields has had some nice moments throughout the first four days of camp. His arm talent has been on display with some of the deep passes, but there have also been several reports of inconsistency.
If Wilson’s calf issue lingers in any way, then that could definitely open the door for Fields to gain ground in the competition. But Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Steelers insider Gerry Dulac reported on X, via sources, last night that they are “not concerned at all” about his calf injury. Tomlin even reiterated pole position for Wilson on Wednesday to open camp, and that would have been after the conditioning test when the minor injury was already suffered.
The other pertinent point that Graziano made is that there is no financial commitment to either player. This is very true, and something that was talked about a lot back when Wilson was added for the veteran minimum of $1.21 million. It is one of the reasons I thought he would sign for over the minimum contract threshold to provide himself a little more security. But this is at least an indication that something was said to him behind closed doors about his starting job. He must have felt pretty secure.
That was before the Steelers traded for Fields, and when we still thought he would be competing with Kenny Pickett. But Pickett’s forced exit from Pittsburgh is yet another indication of the nature of the quarterback competition and what was possibly said to Wilson at signing.
Once Wilson returns on Tuesday, a strong performance could quickly quiet the renewed quarterback competition talk that has resurfaced over the last week. The local beat reporters have remained very consistent across the board on the nature of the competition, and I don’t think enough has happened yet to change that.
