While the Pittsburgh Steelers have loved what they’ve seen from Justin Fields, Russell Wilson is still leading the lap in the race to become the team’s Week 1 starting quarterback. That’s the vibe ESPN’s Adam Schefter gets on the team’s battle, offering his two cents during a Monday interview on the Pat McAfee Show.
“Justin Fields has gotten better and better every practice and they love the guy,” Schefter told the show. “He’s a natural leader. And he’s got support. But I still think Russell when he gets back, had that idea to be in pole position.”
Schefter added the more time Wilson misses with his calf injury and the more Fields shines, the harder the decision might be on the coaching staff. Wilson has yet to practice fully through any of the Steelers 10 training camp sessions, slowly building upon his work over the first two weeks. He’s only received roughly a dozen reps during the 11 on 11 team period and thrown just one pass during those sessions, a short completion to WR Duece Watts during Sunday’s practice.
After an inconsistent start to training camp, Fields is coming off a great week of six practices, the Steelers longest consecutive stretch of camp. His accuracy has improved, he’s made the routine throws more often, and he’s made plays down the field while showing off his legs. The biggest negative has been the frequency of passes Fields has had batted down at the line of scrimmage, an area he’s acknowledged the need to work on.
Ultimately, Schefter doesn’t offer much new ground on the quarterback situation. Nor has the team, Mike Tomlin offering little commentary about the state of the race. Based on his impressive start, it’s hard not to think Fields hasn’t closed the gap at least a little on Wilson. But by an inch or a mile, second place is still second place. Based on Wilson’s veteran status, leadership, and going through the entire spring program as the Steelers’ clear starter, it’s doubtful he’ll lose his job out of the gate. It’s a sentiment shared by GMFB’s Peter Schrager, who hears Wilson is still entrenched as the starter.
But should he or the offense struggle to open up the regular season, Pittsburgh will feel the heat to turn to Fields, looking for the spark Mike Tomlin wanted when he replaced Mitch Trubisky with Kenny Pickett in 2022 and Trubisky again for Mason Rudolph in 2023.
