Russell Wilson ramped up his practice participation in a big way Tuesday when he took four of the first-team reps during the Seven Shots and then split reps the rest of practice with Justin Fields. The division of labor between the two will be one of the most important things to watch for this team moving forward. Especially when you consider Wilson received the majority of starting reps throughout the spring. Has Fields done enough to make it a true competition? Does he have a chance to win the job?
“He absolutely has an opportunity to win the quarterback competition,” The Athletic’s NFL insider Dianna Russini said via the Scoop City podcast this morning. “And some of it right now is because we have not seen Russell Wilson, alright? So, I can tell you that the Steelers want to see Wilson on the field heathy when he gets back here before they would make any decision.”
It is unclear if she is reporting this from things she has heard from sources within the Steelers’ organization, or if this is just speculation based on Fields getting 10 days of uncontested first-team reps in Wilson’s absence. Either way, she seems to think that Fields has a good shot at unseating Wilson. This despite Mike Tomlin reiterating pole position for Wilson as recently as the day before camp began.
It wouldn’t be the most surprising thing to happen. I ended up being wrong, but I was very skeptical before Wilson signed with the Steelers that he would do so for the veteran minimum contract. While it made no financial difference for him, it very well could be his undoing as the Steelers’ starting quarterback. The Steelers have basically no skin in the game with Wilson at just $1.21 million dollars. The same can also be said about Fields, but that gives them the ultimate flexibility to do whatever they want to do with no real strings attached.
In the end, Fields is a decade younger and presents more long-term upside than Wilson, who is likely in the last three or four years of his career at 35 years old. If they choose to build the team around Wilson, they would do so knowing that the quarterback conundrum would once again be just around the corner. And they would be betting against Wilson starting to show significant signs of his age.
The situation has played out just about perfect for Fields, who told reporters in the spring that he didn’t come to the Steelers with the mindset of sitting on the bench all season.
Wilson seemed to have a couple choices before signing with the Steelers. And the circumstances surrounding Kenny Pickett’s exit sure make it seem like Wilson was promised a starting role. Would the Steelers go back on that?
Just look at what Tomlin had to say in an interview with Kay Adams over the weekend.
“Certainly, they’re competing, but I don’t overly concern ourselves with being fair,” Tomlin said.
That can be left to each individual’s interpretation. Maybe he means the Steelers aren’t concerned with being fair and giving Justin Fields a real shot because they have had their minds made up all along. Or maybe, just maybe, Tomlin means they aren’t concerned with being fair to Wilson based on what they may have told him at the time of signing.
That should become more apparent with how the next week of practice and the first preseason game or two shake out. For what it’s worth, Russell Wilson is listed as the starter over Justin Fields on the first team-released depth chart.
