For Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, a quarterback competition—including one between Russell Wilson and Justin Fields—is in the eye of the beholder. And Tomlin is the one eying this competition, such that it is one. Appearing on Up & Adams on Saturday with Kay Adams, he explained his idea of competition between the two.
“Certainly, they’re competing, but I don’t overly concern ourselves with being fair”, Tomlin insisted. “There’s no such thing as 50/50. We just pay respect to the totality of his resume and his experience. We lean on it; we let him lead the group informally”.
That is, I think, the key to understanding the Steelers’ recent history of quarterback “competitions”. They were never competitions in the sense that most might understand, as in “may the best man win”. These have always been weighted competitions—and after Kenny Pickett’s offseason last year, that’s probably a good thing. Experience has to count for something, and Tomlin values Russell Wilson’s history over Fields.
“Justin [Fields] has absorbed a lot of responsibility since coming into the league. It’s probably a great opportunity for him to work alongside, day to day, somebody at his position that’s done it longer and done it at a high level”, Tomlin said, with Wilson being that somebody.
“But rest assured, both guys are gonna be given an opportunity to show their skills over the course of the next month, and I’m excited about watching them sort themselves out”, he added. Tomlin has watched Fields advance in whatever quarterback competition the Steelers might have recently, with Wilson’s bum calf liming him. Wilson should return soon, however, though perhaps not in time for the first preseason game.
To his credit, Justin Fields is saying and doing all the right things, tuning out Mike Tomlin’s “pole position” rhetoric about Russell Wilson. He said on Saturday that none of that changes his approach, and he just keeps plugging along.
Tomlin created his own baggage thanks to the quarterback “competition” of 2022, with Mitch Trubisky starting near the finish line. The only way he wasn’t going to start Trubisky was if he absolutely tanked or somebody else demonstrably eclipsed him. There is always time to make changes, and he did four games into that season.
The Steelers believe that Russell Wilson gives them a better chance to win at the start of this season. But I’m sure they are open to new information, and if they struggle early on, we could see Justin Fields. That might start with some sort of sub-package looks, but any success there will only feed the push toward change.
