The Steelers are making a huge change at the quarterback position this year as they have brought in veteran Russell Wilson and former Chicago Bear Justin Fields to the fold. They have also parted company with 2022 first-round draft choice Kenny Pickett, so it's obvious that head coach Mike Tomlin will have a new leader under center.
It would seem that it's all set up for a major quarterback competition in the Steelers training camp, but that's not the way Tomlin has set it up. The long-time Steelers boss has said that Wilson will be the team's starting quarterback and that the super-athletic Fields will be the backup.
Tomlin is impressed with the many experiences that Wilson has had in his career, and that's why he will have the established edge at this point.
“This is not a guy who was hungry, meaning that that can be satisfied,” Tomlin said, via Mike DeFabo of The Athletic. “This is a guy that's driven. You want to work with people who have that mindset.”
Steelers are not going to discount Justin Fields
While Wilson will be listed as the Pittsburgh starting quarterback on the team's depth chart throughout the offseason, don't think for a second that the former Chicago Bears quarterback is not going to get a fair chance to compete for the job and show what he can do.
Fields clearly has the edge in athleticism because of his foot speed and quickness, and he also has shown that he has the kind of arm strength that will allow him to get the ball downfield with little effort. If he can demonstrate that he is the better quarterback in offseason training and in summer training camp, Tomlin is not going to ignore him.
“Rest assured when it's time to compete, Justin (Fields) will be given an opportunity to compete and we'll allow those guys to sort themselves out,” Tomlin added. “But I thought it was appropriate to describe it in a way to describe it in terms of how we get started.”
Russell Wilson is coming off decent showing in Denver
Wilson spent 10 years with the Seattle Seahawks before moving to the Denver Broncos the last two seasons. He struggled badly in Denver during the 2022 campaign, but he made a strong recovery last year. Nevertheless, head coach Sean Payton decided that Wilson was not the quarterback he wanted to work with in order to return the Broncos to glory.
Wilson completed 297 of 447 passes for 3,070 yards with 26 touchdowns and 9 interceptions in 2023. The quarterbacks is a 9-time Pro Bowler and he led the Seahawks to their only Super Bowl title. He had his best year in 2017 when he completed 61.3 percent of his passes for 3,983 yards with a league-leading 34 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
Fields completed 61.4 percent of his passes last season for 2,562 yards with 16 touchdown passes and nine interceptions. He also ran for 657 yards and four touchdowns for the Bears. Fields rushed for 1,143 yards and eight touchdowns in 2022.
As Week 1 of the 2024 season approaches, Mike Tomlin will not have an easy decision to make for the Steelers at the QB1 position.
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