The Pittsburgh Steelers went from having one of the worst, more boring quarterback situations in the NFL to now having one of the more interesting QB rooms in the league, with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields now both under contract with the team.
Obviously both quarterbacks are at very different stages in their NFL careers — but each has shown they can start at a high level.
From the moment the Steelers acquired both quarterbacks, head coach Mike Tomlin has made it clear that Russell Wilson was going to be given the first opportunity to be the team’s starting QB.
“Wilson did nothing through 12 practices to even slightly indicate he could lose the quarterback competition to Justin Fields,” Kaboly wrote for The Athletic. “The work ethic, the experience, the arm talent and the fact he basically took all of the first-team snaps strongly suggest that nothing Wilson can do between July 24 and Sept. 8 would prevent him from starting.”
Shortly after the Pittsburgh Steelers made the decision to replace Kenny Pickett with both Wilson and Fields, they clarified that it would be Wilson who got the first shot at the starting job. Head coach Mike Tomlin left the door open for Fields to win the job at some point over the summer, or even later in the regular season, but it was Wilson’s job first.
“You couldn’t have asked for much more out of Wilson during OTAs and minicamp, on the field and off it. His leadership is more than noticeable, and that’s been true since the first day he showed up. What stood out was his arm talent, whether it was a throw in the flat, at the goal line or down the field.”