Mike Tomlin may not have declared a Week 1 starter following Saturday’s preseason finale, but the division of labor in the Steelers’ 24-17 loss to the Detroit Lions told us everything we needed to know. If it were a real competition, Wilson wouldn’t have come off the field after throwing just two passes in the final chance to evaluate the quarterbacks before the start of the season.
Former NFL head coach Herm Edwards saw enough to make a decision if he were the one in charge.
“Russell Wilson is the starter for me, but I’m not Mike Tomlin,” Edward said via ESPN’s SportsCenter Saturday night.
Wilson had pole position all along, and I’m not so sure anything ever came close to changing that. Tomlin held him out of the majority of training camp to prevent a small calf issue from becoming a large one. Even with the extra reps and a strong performance by Justin Fields throughout practice, Russell Wilson returned to his QB1 position as soon as he was healthy enough for a full return.
But Fields may have earned himself a bigger role or more confidence from the coaches for the Steelers to install a package of plays for him during the regular season.
“I would find a way to use both of them,” Edwards said. “I actually would. I mean, in certain downs, certain situations, all of a sudden you bring in Justin Fields, that is a problem for the defense. Now, every week you are talking about a defensive coordinator having to get ready for both quarterbacks.”
Over the second half of the second preseason game against the Buffalo Bills and throughout Fields’ snaps yesterday against the Lions, we saw things like the read-option and some RPOs that could create issues for opposing defenses.
The below play was a third-down conversion for Fields during his touchdown drive in the first quarter. He simply reads the end man on the line, pulls the football and gains the necessary yards to extend the drive.
And the best part is that Fields has shown enough with his arm throughout his career to where it wouldn’t be an obvious tell of the Steelers running strictly read-options and designed QB runs. Defenses still have to respect his arm if he enters the game.
It is unorthodox and not many teams do it, but the Steelers appear poised to utilize two quarterbacks in the regular season. I wouldn’t be surprised to see at least a few snaps every game for Fields. And you don’t have to worry too much about what Russell Wilson will think. He’s already endorsed creating a package of plays for Fields.
