The Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t made it official and won’t until the end of next week, but all signs are pointing to Russell Wilson being the team’s starting quarterback in Week 1. Wilson was the presumed starter as far back as March when Mike Tomlin said he was in “pole position” for the job ahead of Justin Fields. While Chris Hoke believes that Wilson will get the job, he thinks that Fields has shown enough too in another sense.
“I think Justin Fields has done as heck of a job in the preseason. I think he’s shown that he could be a starting quarterback here,” Hoke said on the KDKA Nightly Sports Call following Pittsburgh’s preseason finale against the Detroit Lions. “Russell Wilson was anointed as the starting quarterback, Coach Tomlin has said since Day 1 he was in the pole position. Let’s see what they do in Week 1 against the Falcons against the starters.
“Now if they don’t move the ball and they struggle for a couple of games, I think you could see them start to trickle in Justin Fields a little bit just to get things going because his element of being able to run the ball and run that zone option really opens up the game and puts defenses on their heels. There’s going to be a package for him at certain times because he’s too good of a player to have sit on the bench.”
Hoke added that one reason why Tomlin might be delaying naming Wilson the starter is to make Atlanta prepare for Fields’ mobility and practice against the read option.
Fields has shown some flashes, and the team will likely have a package for him to come in and use his legs. We’ve seen run QB power and the read option in the preseason, and it’s likely that the team will try and take advantage of his mobility when it can. But Wilson has been the guy pretty much since the day he signed, and the Steelers and Tomlin haven’t really backed down from that stance even with him missing time early in training camp due to a calf injury.
But Fields, who was the starter for the Bears for the last three seasons, has starting experience and he did flash at times with the first-team offense. Today was the best he’s looked in a game setting in a Steelers uniform, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he got a further look if the Steelers do struggle with Wilson under center.
Of course, that’s the worst-case scenario right now, but given that Fields is just 25 years old, he could wind up being a long-term answer for the Steelers if they extend him following this season. A year behind Wilson could be beneficial for Fields’ development, and he’s shown enough already that it’s not outlandish to think of him as the team’s potential quarterback of the future.
But his opportunity to start more than likely won’t be in Week 1. Wilson played just one series against Detroit in the final preseason game, which further confirms that he’s probably going to be Pittsburgh’s starting quarterback to open up the season. But given what Fields has shown, it wouldn’t be a surprise at all if we see him start for the Steelers at some point down the line.
