“Will they or won’t they” tends to be a juvenile question, but the Pittsburgh Steelers’ approach to quarterback “competitions” often strikes people as somewhat juvenile as well. The Steelers held a competition in 2022, with Mitch Trubisky doing little to win it.
Many saw Russell Wilson as a parallel figure this offseason, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin even proclaiming his “pole position”. But frequently in racing, the guy in pole position doesn’t actually win the race. Sometimes he blows a tire and loses precious time to his younger, faster teammate—in this case, Justin Fields. Now after training camp and two weeks of the preseason, Brooke Pryor of ESPN used the word—hesitantly.
“I think that this is a quarterback [competition]. I really didn’t want to use that word, but I feel like the way that the way things went in the last preseason game, it necessitates that word at this point, or at least we’re starting to dip our toes into a real competition”, Pryor told Adam Schein on his Schein on Sports show.
The Steelers aggressively courted Russell Wilson after the Denver Broncos released him this offseason; in comparison, they only turned to Justin Fields via trade after Kenny Pickett, prompted by the Wilson signing, requested a trade himself. While they talked about Fields competing, it always struck many as so many words with no gravity behind them.
But a funny thing happened on the way to Chuck Noll Field in Latrobe. Thanks to a new strength and conditioning staff, Russell Wilson found himself pushing a sled during the Steelers’ new conditioning test. In the process, he injured his calf, and it took him some time to get back to regular practice. Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith even said that he limited what he called for him last week.
“This calf injury I think really complicated things for the Steelers because it meant that they got an extended look at Justin Fields working with the first-team offenses and seeing what extra wrinkles he gives this group with his legs, with the playmaking ability that he has to extend plays, the running”, Pryor said.
She noted that, while much was outside of his control, the first-team offense did not look good with Russell Wilson playing in the team’s second preseason game. The Steelers looked more alive after Fields replaced him, albeit without much more success. “He was able to kind of mitigate the line struggles”, Pryor said. “Your eyes are kind of opened a little bit, like, ‘Wow, if this offensive line is not going to jell the way they thought it would by Week 1, does it make more sense to go with Justin Fields'”?
Even still, while Pryor has now used the word “competition”, she still gives the edge to Wilson. But what happens if Wilson doesn’t look good against the Lions in the Steelers’ final preseason game and Fields scores a couple touchdowns? What if he shows that he can play clean and protect the ball while being a dynamic playmaker? The threat of Fields will always be over Wilson’s shoulder, but what about as early as the season opener?
