With quarterback Russell Wilson among seven veteran players who will be held out Friday night in the preseason opener against the Houston Texans, the Pittsburgh Steelers and head coach Mike Tomlin will roll out Justin Fields as the QB1.
Along with Fields, the starting offense will be without veteran left guard Isaac Seumalo, giving some younger players opportunities to show themselves with the first unit.
But that opportunity will be limited Tomlin said Wednesday during a press conference previewing the preseason opener against the Texans.
“I’m probably going to give that quote unquote first unit and [Fields] included in that, a couple of series,” Tomlin told reporters, according to video via the Steelers’ YouTube page.
That isn’t much of a surprise considering it is the first preseason game for the Steelers, while it is the second preseason game for the Texans, who played in the Hall of Fame Game last week against the Chicago Bears in Canton, Ohio.
Houston head coach DeMeco Ryans revealed earlier in the week that his starters will see action against Pittsburgh, so despite having seven veterans sitting out, it will be a good early look for Pittsburgh. The Texans are one of the deepest teams in football, and one that many believe could be one of the top teams in the AFC.
Building off a solid training camp, Fields will get a shot to prove himself in-stadium with the Steelers under new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Though he won’t have Seumalo protecting him, the rest of the starting offense will be available for the Steelers, which will have all eyes on it as they take the field for the first time with OC Arthur Smith calling the plays.
Based on the depth chart the Steelers released Tuesday night, second-year pro Spencer Anderson would be the next man up behind Seumalo, especially with veteran interior offensive lineman Nate Herbig listed as the starter at center.
However, Tomlin stated Wednesday that the Steelers haven’t decided who will start in place of Seumalo.
“We haven’t even really discussed that yet. I’m just committed to not playing Isaac,” Tomlin said. “As I mentioned today, we still have a Steelers versus Steelers practice scheduled this morning. And so as we get into this afternoon, as we get off the field, we’ll really start to detail how we divide the labor up, and specifically how much people are gonna play and when.”
Though it is the first showing in-stadium for the new-look offense under Smith, Tomlin is not concerned whatsoever that Wilson won’t see any reps against the Texans, considering his veteran status, his resume and still building up to the start of the season for the free agent signee, all while recovering from a calf injury.
The Steelers and Texans kick off at 7 p.m. at Acrisure Stadium on Friday night. The game can be streamed on NFL+, or locally on KDKA-TV and KDKA+, and can be heard on 102.5 DVE and the Steelers Radio Network.
