While Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Russell Wilson will be back next week, Justin Fields will be waiting. Local reporters still maintain that there is no competition, yet everybody else seems to think otherwise. That includes former Steeler Chris Hoke, who weighed in on KDKA Nightly Sports Call after the team’s first preseason game.
“[Wilson] needs to get out there next week”, Hoke said. “This has become more of a competition than I think any of us really thought. Coach [Mike] Tomlin was very clear coming into camp that he was in pole position, that this was his job to lose. But with him really missing the first two weeks of camp, it’s given Justin Fields an opportunity to catch the eyes of these coaches”.
The presumptive starter, Russell Wilson suffered a calf injury during the Steelers’ conditioning test. He has only practiced on a limited basis since then, with Justin Fields the primary beneficiary. To Hoke’s point, even a number of skeptical beat writers have gradually changed their tune. At the very least, some have said that the Steelers must use him in special packages.
“It’s making them pause”, Hoke said of Fields’ progress during the Steelers’ practices the past weeks. “[Wilson’s] got to get in there and compete and show, ‘Hey, I’m still the experienced guy. I’m the guy you brought in. I am who you thought I was. Let me take the reins and go with this’”.
Fields played 17 snaps during the Steelers’ preseason debut last night, failing to lead to points. For his own work, he went 5-of-6 passing for 67 yards with three rushes for two yards. He also took two crucial sacks, however, and he and Nate Herbig botched multiple center exchanges.
Despite the shaky moments, overall, Fields managed to make some plays. That seems to be the story that has followed him throughout training camp, with a positive upward trajectory. If he can continue to build on that in the final two preseason games, it’s hard to rule anything out.
“Justin Fields had a good game”, Hoke said about Russell’s Wilson’s purported challenger to start at quarterback. “He had a few bad exchanges but Herbig said, ‘That was on me. That was my fault’. There’s going to be a lot of discussion on what the Steelers are going to do”.
There is always going to be a lot of discussion about the Steelers’ quarterback situation. The question is who is having those discussions. Are the Steelers having those discussions, and what do they entail? How open are Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith to running a Justin Fields offense in September?
