Through the first ten days of Pittsburgh Steelers training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, backup quarterback Justin Fields has been the talk of the town—and the NFL.
Fields, who is seeing most of the QB1 reps due to Russell Wilson’s calf injury, has taken advantage of his opportunity to showcase himself in the starting offense and has generated quite a bit of buzz as a potential starter under center for the Steelers.
The former No. 11 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Fields has steadily improved daily for the Black and Gold at training camp and is seemingly starting to make a push for the QB situation to become a true competition.
For many, it’s still going to be Wilson’s job, even with the injury limiting him in the last week. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Monday during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show that while the Steelers “love” Fields, Wilson is still in that pole position that head coach Mike Tomlin talked about earlier in the offseason.
ESPN’s Brooke Pryor believes, though, that if Fields can continue to show improvements and consistency in making the routine plays on top of his splash so far in training camp, he could really turn the QB situation into an actual competition.
“Though Russell Wilson entered training camp in “pole position,” and it appeared the starting job would be his job to lose, Wilson’s conditioning test calf injury makes things interesting for the Steelers,” Pryor writes regarding the Steeles’ QB situation. “With Wilson slowly ramping up, Justin Fields has taken nearly all of the first-team reps, and his best practice came in the team’s first padded practice [last] Tuesday, where he completed every pass attempt. Not only did he connect with George Pickens on a one-handed touchdown grab, but he also showed off his wheels in a couple of designed runs.
“Wilson is still likely in the lead for the job, but if Fields can make routine — and splash — plays consistently, this might be more of a competition than it initially appeared.”
Fields has made some plays in training camp. He’s shown off his legs and his arm, making some ‘wow’ plays, but he hasn’t done much in any true “live” session. That’s what makes it so hard to truly get a read on Fields at this point.
Last year’s performance in training camp and the preseason by quarterback Kenny Pickett should breed some caution when it comes to reading too far into performances in training camp. But yet, that’s exactly what’s happening — again.
Just last summer, the conversation was, “Kenny Pickett is ready to take a big leap,” and now this year it’s about Justin Fields being the best option for the Steelers now and moving forward. Both were based on training camp performances, and in Pickett’s case included preseason showings.
It’s a good reminder to pump the brakes and not live and die on every single clip that circulates on social media, good or bad.
Let’s see what happens when Wilson returns to practice in full capacity. Chances are, he is right back there as QB1, and Justin Fields will have limited reps. As head coach Mike Tomlin likes to say, they are treated fairly but not equally. He’s had the chance to get a look at Fields, but for better or worse has put quite a bit on Wilson’s plate a leader.
He hasn’t really gotten a chance to prove himself in the same setting Fields is in.
Once he gets those reps, let’s see what a potential competition might look like. Ultimately, Fields might not have a chance to make it one. Time will tell. But there does appear to be a long way to go before it even comes close to being characterized as a competition.
