The Pittsburgh Steelers had a question mark in terms of if Russell Wilson would play in preseason Week 2, but head coach Mike Tomlin cleared things up on Thursday.
The Steelers will indeed play and start Wilson against the Buffalo Bills, and the plan is for him and the first team on both sides of the ball to play roughly four series, according to Tomlin.
Projected backup, Justin Fields, will come in after that but how long he plays has yet to be determined. Fields got the nod last week when Wilson didn’t play.
“Russ is scheduled to participate if he has no setbacks,” Tomlin said, per Steelers.com. “It’s been a good week. He’s been a full participant. He’s had a couple really good days. With each passing day, it is less of an issue, and so we look forward to him participating in this home venue. Our mindset regarding the first team … last week, they played about two series, roughly, offensively and defensively.
“We have a mindset of playing roughly four this time around, but that’s subject to change based on what it is that we see. If they’re highly effective and productive and we get good quality work, we might move on from them to get more of an exposure to the other guys, and so that’s a template in which we work. It’s not etched in stone.”
#Steelers HC Mike Tomlin says how much Justin Fields plays after Russell Wilson is: “Not etched in stone”
— Rob Gregson (@NFL_Rob) August 15, 2024
Having Wilson playing obviously adds some extra juice to the second exhibition game, as not only will this be his Steelers debut, we’ll also be able to compare the quarterbacks side-by-side in an actual game.
Wilson clearly remains in the pole position for the starting job and it would take quite the monumental collapse combined with a fantastic performance from Fields for that to change.
