Mike Tomlin doesn’t like hypotheticals. But declining to answer if Russell Wilson is the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starting quarterback whenever he returns to full health will have the sports world wondering if Wilson’s lost his job before ever starting a game. During his Tuesday press conference, Tomlin was candidly asked if Wilson will start once he’s fully cleared. Tomlin punted the question away.
“Again, I’m not gonna soothe you with hypothetical scenarios,” Tomlin said via the Steelers’ YouTube channel. “It is my general practice to not. You guys that know me, know I do not. So why start today because it’s the quarterback position or because it’s a national story? I am unmoved by some of those narratives, to be quite honest with you.”
It’s a typical and expected Tomlin answer, a veteran coach who knows enough about football’s ever-changing landscape to avoid making that kind of commitment out of the gate. Especially for a coach who has ridden the quarterback roller coaster since Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement, starting four quarterbacks since 2022 and announcing another, Wilson, as the team’s 2024 starter before a calf injury scrapped those plans. Tomlin’s answer shouldn’t be taken with the weight it might first appear.
Still, if this was T.J. Watt? Yes, of course, he’s the starter. That’d be Tomlin’s answer. Ditto with George Pickens or Minkah Fitzpatrick or any other top talent. With Tomlin declining to answer about Wilson’s status going forward, he’s giving himself wiggle room to make a permanent change. That would require QB Justin Fields to progress and the Steelers to keep winning, but the door is open.
“We’re just simply gonna proceed with what we normally do,” Tomlin added. “Our energies are and attention are on those that are available and are scheduled to play. They’re deserving of that. When those that are not are healthy, we’ll ponder it at that time.”
Soft-tissue injuries like Wilson’s can linger. Pittsburgh’s already shown how cautious it can be in preventing small strains from becoming big problems, holding Wilson out for over two weeks when he first suffered the injury in training camp. That could buy Tomlin an extra week to use the line that Wilson isn’t fully healthy while evaluating Fields and the future of the team. Tomlin spoke similar language in last year’s situation when Pittsburgh used Kenny Pickett’s lack of health and reps as why Mason Rudolph continued to start until it became obvious Rudolph’s play was strong enough to keep the starting job.
“He’s [Rudolph] got the ball to start the week, and we’ll see where Kenny is from a mobility perspective,” Tomlin said last December.
Fast forward to 2024 and you can sub in “Fields” for “Rudolph” and “Russ” for “Kenny.” So while the Steelers are leaving a light on for Wilson to return, they’re also leaving a light on for Fields to take the starting job for good.
