While Russell Wilson has been in “pole position” all offseason when it comes to the starting quarterback job, Mike Tomlin told reporters after the game today that he won’t name a starter between Wilson and Justin Fields until the end of next week. Wilson, despite being the starter all offseason, isn’t questioning Tomlin’s process. In his postgame press conference, he told reporters that Tomlin “knows what he’s doing” when it comes to the quarterback competition.
As far as why he thinks he should win the job, Wilson said he’s just focusing on being a professional.
“I’m just focusing on being the best teammate I can be, preparing every day, being professional in how we go about the approach. I think that our room is a talented room, and obviously I think that the best thing that we’ve done is get better every day,” Wilson said after the Steelers’ 24-17 loss to the Detroit Lions said via Steelers.com.. “For me, personally, I want to help this team win. We got a mission. We got goals, we got big ones, and I think we gotta take it one week at a time, and hopefully by the end of it all, it’s all worth it.”
Wilson said he’s not questioning Tomlin over his decision to not name a starter yet, adding it’s about the team and not him individually.
“Coach Tomlin is one of the best coaches to ever coach the game, I won’t ever question him. He knows what he’s doing, I’m just focused on what I can control and what I can do every day,” Wilson said. “These teammates that I have, it’s not about me, it’s really just about us together and what we can do and how we go about it, and I believe that I can obviously help this team win.”
With Wilson just playing one series in the team’s preseason finale, going 2-of-2 for 26 yards and leading a touchdown drive, it sure seems as if he’s going to be the Week 1 starter. He’s remained QB1 on the depth chart, and while Fields got first-team reps early in camp and started the preseason opener due to Wilson’s calf injury, he didn’t do enough to overtake Wilson as the presumed starter.
While Fields is much more mobile, Wilson is a veteran who’s won a Super Bowl and has a lot of experience leading a team. Tomlin pointed to his ability as a leader and managing the team off the field as one reason why he was ahead of Fields earlier this offseason, and Wilson has been the consummate professional and teammate ever since arriving in Pittsburgh.
He organized teammates for a workout in San Diego and seems to be well-liked by his teammates. He believes he can help the team win, which was T.J. Watt’s message to him when recruiting him to Pittsburgh. While he hasn’t officially been named the starter, it’s clear that he’s not all that upset about it and knows that Tomlin is just doing what’s best for the team as a whole.
It would wind up being a surprise if Fields was named the starter over Wilson, but Tomlin emphasized that he wanted to see the two work in “Steelers versus Steelers.” It’s only fair to give Fields at least one last shot to prove why he should start in the weeks leading up to Week 1. As Tomlin said, it diminishes the work the team does as a group to name a starter now, and that’s where it becomes about the group as a whole and not just those in the quarterback room.
We’ll see what happens at the end of the week when Tomlin makes his announcement, but it would come as a shock if Wilson isn’t under center for the Steelers Week 1 against Atlanta.
