Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin revealed on Tuesday he’s “preparing” as if Justin Fields will serve as his starting quarterback for a second straight game as veteran Russell Wilson continues to recover from a lingering calf issue.
For a piece published Wednesday morning, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler indicated Fields likely won’t win the QB1 job on a full-term basis even if he guides the Steelers to a 2-0 start.
“Even though Fields is expected to start for the Steelers [at the 0-1 Denver Broncos this Sunday],” Fowler explained, “the belief is that Wilson will get the job once he returns from his calf injury. Pittsburgh believes Wilson’s command of the offense is stronger, and it seems like only an explosive performance from Fields can change the trajectory.”
Wilson first hurt his calf early into training camp and then reaggravated the injury before Week 1. In Pittsburgh’s season-opening 18-10 win at the Atlanta Falcons this past Sunday, Fields completed 17-of-23 passes for 156 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions to go along with 57 rushing yards. According to ESPN stats, Fields ended Week 1 ranked 18th in the NFL with a 42.6 adjusted QBR.
“Fields could certainly have been better [against the Falcons],” ESPN’s Dan Graziano added. “He was jittery early, and the coaches know he needs to work on reducing those nerves. But the Steelers designed a very conservative offensive game plan…working very hard to keep Fields’ throws out of the middle of the field, where Falcons safety Jessie Bates III is adept at messing up offensive game plans. NFL Next Gen Stats shows that Fields attempted zero passes between the hashes, only one between the numbers and almost nothing deep.”
The Steelers kicked six field goals to open the campaign at 1-0.
Meanwhile, Alex Kozora of Steelers Depot noted that NFL insider Jay Glazer shared on the latest edition of the “NFL on Fox Podcast” that he spoke with Tomlin about Pittsburgh’s plans for the Denver contest.
“He’s not sure yet because he just wants to see where Russell Wilson’s calf is,” Glazer said about Tomlin. “I think he looks at it and goes, ‘Man, redemption games.’ I know he loves redemption games. So you can look at something like that. But he’s not able to make a decision yet until he sees where Russell’s calf is.”
Wilson’s struggles with the Broncos during the 2022 and 2023 seasons were well-documented, and the team ate the largest dead-cap hit in NFL history in order to release the 35-year-old this past March. Assuming Glazer is correct, Tomlin may wait for as long as possible to name his starting signal-caller for the Denver game just in case Wilson feels more like himself by Friday afternoon.
As of Wednesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Steelers as 2.5-point road favorites against the Broncos.
