Justin Fields has led the Steelers through their first two training camp practices while Russell Wilson recovers from a calf injury. He has had generally positive results thus far, but more importantly, he is getting experience with the starters. That is something he did not have during OTAs, and he is now in charge of the show—for the time being.
While head coach Mike Tomlin claims that every job is competitive, most believe there isn’t one at quarterback for the Steelers this season. They signed Russell Wilson to start and traded for Justin Fields as an afterthought. But we’ve heard again that they had great hopes for Fields coming out of college, and Wilson won’t be around forever, even if he starts now. So, what happens if Wilson loses additional time and Fields takes over the offense?
The Steelers just saw Kenny Pickett have a fantastic offseason last year only to fall short later on. He had an almost flawless preseason, but he looked like a different quarterback during the regular season. Even though Fields is playing well right now, Wilson has performed better in important games. After all, what we’re seeing from him now doesn’t appear to be new. Fields has always had enormous talent and a strong arm, but unlike Wilson, he does not always use it well. They do have different strengths and shortcomings, but Wilson hasn’t had much success lately either.
The question is whether Justin Fields can make this a true competition now that Russell Wilson is injured. Maybe not in a “open,” unweighted competition, but can he end up as the opening-day starter? Or does Wilson simply need to appear to be depleted in order for this to occur? I don’t think either Wilson or Fields will reveal anything about themselves other than their pasts. Playing for the Steelers is obviously not a magic elixir, particularly on offense. But someone needs to play quarterback, so is there room for discussion over who?
The Steelers’ 2024 season is coming, following another disastrous year that ended with a playoff loss. The only variation in the annual formula recently is whether they miss the playoffs entirely. They have had a lengthy offseason since the Buffalo Bills put them out of their misery in January. The biggest question hovering over the team is who will play quarterback.Does Russell Wilson transform them into a Super Bowl-caliber club, or are they squandering a year? How will the club continue to handle the depth chart?
The Steelers have completed free agency and the draft, and their roster for the 2024 season is coming into shape. They made several transactions, including signings, trades, and releases. They appeared to be more at ease creating holes than normal, secure in their ability to fill them. Now that we have so many parts of the puzzle, we just have more questions to ask.
