The quarterback battle for the Pittsburgh Steelers has been much more intriguing than anticipated, with Russell Wilson forced to miss much of the first two weeks of practice with a calf injury. Justin Fields had an up-and-down first week of training camp but has turned things around by stacking good performances. His athleticism and arm talent were known commodities entering camp, but his timing and accuracy on intermediate routes have been a question mark for him over the first three years of his career.
Steelers insider Ray Fittipaldo gave a high-level overview of Pittsburgh’s quarterback situation after the first 14 practices of camp via the North Shore Drive podcast, which is posted on Post-Gazette Sports’ YouTube channel.
“Russ [Wilson] has looked good in practice when he has had the opportunity to throw, but you would think that would be his big edge over Fields. But right now, Fields is kind of matching him throw for throw in practice,” Fittipaldo said. “Those throws over the middle, where there’s a lot of timing between the receiver and the QB, those have been really good for Fields.
“…He’s looked pretty darn good since an uneven first week of camp. Obviously you want Russ to be in there, to be healthy, but I don’t know that the Steelers would be having nightmares at night with Justin Fields as the quarterback. I think he’s proven that he could be that guy for them.”
Keep in mind that Fittipaldo reported during spring practices that the knocks on Fields “turned out to be true.” The inconsistent play, the issues going through his progressions, and getting the ball out accurately and on time were all big questions that lingered throughout the spring and into the first week of training camp. But his play over the last two weeks of camp has alleviated some of those questions and turned him into a viable quarterback option, even if the plan is still to roll with Wilson.
Even as Wilson has returned in a more full capacity to practice, Fields has made the most of the first-team opportunities that he gets. He was a part of the play of the day on Sunday’s practice when he connected on a 50-yard pass to Quez Watkins down the left sideline.
To be fair, Wilson has connected on some big plays of his own. Including a 60-yard bomb to Calvin Austin III during today’s practice.
His play in the preseason game wasn’t bad. He didn’t put any points on the board in three drives and he was sacked twice. He also shared blame for two botched snaps that killed drives. Mike Tomlin often preaches doing the routine things routinely, and Fields fell short of that mark on Friday. But when it came to the actual plays that he executed, he looked pretty good.
He completed five of his six pass attempts for 67 yards and finished with a passer rating of 113.2. The one incompletion to Van Jefferson would have probably been ruled in bounds if Tomlin challenged it in a regular season contest. He probably could have gotten rid of the ball sooner on at least one of the sacks, but the offensive line shares blame on both of them.
Even if Wilson is still in pole position—as the first depth chart indicated—there is genuine hope that Fields can turn into the quarterback of the future for the Steelers. If that is the case, then this preseason has been a big win for Fields regardless of what happens in 2024.
