Is the door ajar for Justin Fields to steal the starting job from Russell Wilson?
Justin Fields has led the Steelers through their first two training camp practices with Russell Wilson nursing a calf injury. He has yielded generally positive results thus far, but importantly, he is also gaining experience with the starters. That is something he did not have during OTAs, and now he is running the show—for now.
While head coach Mike Tomlin will say every job is a competition, most believe that there isn’t one at quarterback this year for the Steelers. They signed Russell Wilson to start and only traded for Justin Fields as something of an afterthought.
But we have heard time and again that they were very high on Fields coming out of college, and Wilson won’t be around forever, even if he starts now. So what happens if Wilson misses more time and Fields takes command of the offense?
The Steelers just watched Kenny Pickett have a great offseason last year, only to fall short of that later on. He had pretty much a perfect preseason but looked like a different quarterback in the regular season. So even if Fields looks great now, Wilson has looked better in games that matter.
After all, the things that we’re seeing from him now don’t appear to be news. Fields has always had this immense talent and a big arm, but unlike Wilson, doesn’t always use it so well. They certainly have different strengths and weaknesses, though Wilson hasn’t had much success lately, either.
The question boils down to this: with Russell Wilson dinged up, can Justin Fields make this a real competition? Maybe not an “open”, unweighted competition, but can he wind up as the opening-day starter? Or does Wilson just have to look like he doesn’t have anything left in order for that to happen?
I don’t think either Wilson or Fields are going to show us anything about themselves different from their pasts. Playing for the Steelers is certainly no magic elixir, especially on offense. But somebody has to play quarterback, so is there room for debate as to whom?
The Steelers’ 2024 season is approaching, following another disappointing year that culminated in a playoff loss. The only change-up in the annual formula lately is whether they miss the playoffs altogether. They have had a long offseason since the Buffalo Bills stamped them out of their misery back in January.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Does Russell Wilson make them a Super Bowl-caliber team, or are they wasting a year? How will the team continue to address the depth chart?
The Steelers are past free agency and the draft and their roster for the 2024 season is coming into focus. They made numerous moves through signings and trade—and release. More than usual, they seemed comfortable creating holes, confident they can fill them. Now that we have so many pieces of the puzzle, however, we merely have a new set of questions to ask.
