PITTSBURGH – There’s one thing absent from the quarterback controversy so many around the NFL eagerly wish to concoct involving the Steelers: an alternative to Justin Fields, the current starter at the position.
Oh, future Hall of Famer Russell Wilson is around. He has worn his No. 3 jersey over a set of shoulder pads during each of the season’s first three games, all victories led by Fields. Wilson has been listed on the injury report each week with a calf issue and designated as the team’s emergency QB each Sunday.
Head coach Mike Tomlin met with him just Tuesday morning to discuss how NFL Week 4 would proceed for him. A bit later, upon meeting with the usual assembly of Pittsburgh journalists, Tomlin suggested no significant change has occurred in regard to Fields’ standing or Wilson’s status.
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“We’ll see where the week leads us,” Tomlin said. “If his availability or quality of his practice participation picks up, maybe we’ll consider that later in the week. If it doesn’t, then it won’t be a consideration, and we’ll just continue with where we are right now.”
In his 18th season, Tomlin always has been obsessed with the weekly nature of the NFL challenge. It is one of the defining characteristics of a career that has placed him at No. 6 in winning percentage among all coaches who worked at least 15 seasons. And his impenetrable focus on assuring the best possible effort Sunday afternoon allows him to shove broader issues, such as the identity of the quarterback who’ll lead the team through the AFC North race, into the background.
Which isn’t a universally popular approach among those who publicly comment on the team. In this era, that can mean a gentleman on the afternoon drive sports talk show or someone speaking up on Facebook or Twitter. One radio voice Tuesday cited what he contended was Tomlin’s poor track record handling quarterbacks as evidence he is mishandling this circumstance.
Justin Fields still not ‘the starter’
This is only the third season since Ben Roethlisberger retired. The Steelers are a combined 22-15 since he played his final game. The Steelers have won games with four different QBs as they search for a firm solution at the position.
That includes a 3-0 record in 2024, which places them as one of just five undefeated teams so early in the season. Which is why it was logical for KDKA-FM reporter Jeff Hathorn to ask Tomlin: “What more do you need to see from Justin? Why not name him the starting quarterback going forward?”
“Because there’s no need,” Tomlin said. “I explained to you the variables of the week. It has not changed. He’s going to walk into this building with that mindset tomorrow. Sometimes, in this business, there’s myriad of complex decisions that need to be made. I’ve learned to make them when it’s appropriate. And it’s not necessary, as we sit here right now. When Russ gets to an appropriate point of health, and we have a decision to make, I’ll make it and I’ll announce it and I’ll be transparent about it.”
That would seem to be a prudent, comprehensive answer.
The modern sports media world does not care much for nuance, though.
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At a certain point, and it’s possible we’ve already passed it, even a healthy Wilson will not be able to dislodge Fields as “QB1”. Tomlin perceives no value to publicly acknowledging this. Suggestions it might aid Fields’ improvement ignore that he’s already improved week to week to week, to the point where he completed three brilliant, decisive passes in a 20-10 victory over the Chargers. Each needed to be precisely placed and timed to assure the ideal result.
Tomlin told The Sporting News that degree of accuracy is something the Steelers had observed when scouting him at Ohio State through the 2020 season. “That’s often the case with us,” Tomlin said. “Our interest in people in terms of pro personnel oftentimes can be traced back to draft evals. That was a component of his game that was impressive at Columbus, certainly.”
The first came on the team’s initial touchdown drive, a third-and-4 situation in the second quarter, when Fields’ placement of a throw on wideout Scotty Miller’s outside shoulder allowed him to catch the ball, slip a tackler and dash past the first-down marker. The second came with the Steelers down a field goal facing third-and-15 in the third quarter, when Fields hit Calvin Austin in stride on a quick streak down the middle for 26 yards. And then there was his one touchdown pass, a catch-and-run by Austin in the fourth quarter, which had to be thrown just in time and on target to assure safety Alohi Gilman could not deflect or intercept it.
There was a general assumption that accuracy was an issue when Fields, the No. 10 overall pick in 2021 by the Bears, who was made available for a conditional sixth-round pick. He’d thrown 30 interceptions in three seasons.
“Justin Fields has a good arm – and a good arm isn’t just arm strength. It’s also having a consistent throwing motion to allow yourself to be precise with your throws,” Chris Carter, host of the Locked On Steelers podcast, told TSN. “I think the biggest thing is that he was in an offense where he had to move a lot faster than what he’s having to do with the Steelers. The Steelers are letting him lock in and stay focused on reading his keys and reacting to those.
“With Arthur Smith (as offensive coordinator), I think he’s been very good at saying: This is the plan; stick to the plan. On these plays, we’re giving you these looks: Look here, here, here or you take off. And Justin has been very good at understanding where he goes with it … and how he adapts with the game. It’s another thing to know how to execute those plays in different ways against different defenses.”
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Russell Wilson still healing
The Steelers signed Wilson in March with the plan to make him their starting quarterback. He is a future Hall of Famer with one Super Bowl ring, two Super Bowl appearances and nine Pro Bowls on his resume. His two years in Denver were a disappointment, but he passed for 26 touchdowns in 15 starts with the Broncos in 2023. Pittsburgh does not believe he is washed.
It’s not that his transition to the Steelers has gone poorly. It just hasn’t gone. He injured his calf near the start of training camp in July, returned to play briefly in exhibitions and then aggravated the problem as the opening game in Atlanta neared.
Tomlin has remained respectful of Wilson’s place in the game, as well as the arrangement that brought him to Pittsburgh, while the quarterback has endured the frustratingly slow healing process. There would be no benefit to alienating Wilson, who remains a valuable alternative should Fields suddenly struggle or confront an injury.
This can’t be easy for Wilson. He’s a champion who surely believes he could be winning these games with these Steelers were he in position to do so, and that he could be outlining the final few seasons of his brilliant career in the process. Keeping him engaged isn’t just about diplomacy; slightly more than half of last season’s Week 1 starters maintained their position for all 17 games.
The Steelers may yet need Wilson on the field to assure continued success in 2024.
What they don’t need is to make a declaration before he’s healthy enough to get there.
