In just a 30-second soundbite during halftime of Friday night’s game between the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio provided plenty of information on how the Pittsburgh Steelers are thinking about their quarterback situation. Still uncertain who will start against the Atlanta Falcons, Florio says Justin Fields is the likely starter over Russell Wilson, though no determination may be made until pre-game warmups.
“He’s officially questionable,” Florio said. “Sounds like it’s closer to doubtful. Now, I’m told there’s a chance he’ll be able to play on Sunday, but the decision may go all the way up to game time. And they’re fine if it’s Russell Wilson or Justin Fields. It was a close competition.”
Wilson has been limited at practice the last two days after aggravating the calf injury he suffered during the team’s conditioning test before the first training camp practice. Under a new strength and conditioning test, all players including Wilson were asked to push a sled. Wilson felt the injury then and it sidelined him for two weeks of camp along with the team’s first preseason game.
Now, the Steelers can’t point to a July calendar to make a decision on him. Speaking with reporters Friday, Wilson expressed “hope” he would play but offered no guarantees he would. If Pittsburgh is as careful this time as they were before, it’s hard to see Wilson getting the nod.
That would begin the Justin Fields era sooner than expected. But Florio says the team was banking on Fields being the guy sooner than later.
“And when Wilson plays, there could be very likely a package of plays for Fields. They view him as the better long-term option.”
Of course, Fields is a decade younger than Wilson with far fresher legs. He wasn’t Pittsburgh’s Plan A, signing Wilson was, but when Kenny Pickett asked to be traded, the door opened for the Steelers to land Fields. One minor but notable aspect if Fields starts is the 51-percent trigger he would begin progressing towards. The sixth-round selection the Steelers sent the Chicago Bears for Fields would become a fourth-rounder should Fields play 51-percent of the offensive snaps this year. One start clearly won’t get him there but if Fields plays well and overtakes Wilson, it’ll come into play.
For now, all that matters is Sunday. Wilson will receive treatment Saturday and potentially go through a pre-game workout Sunday to determine his status. If so, we won’t know until roughly 90 minutes before kickoff if Wilson or Fields will start. And right now, we have no idea who will start in Week 2 when Wilson returns to Denver to face his former team.
