Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin alluded at the team’s plans for quarterback Justin Fields, which sound very different from the public narrative that the team intends to start Russell Wilson in Week 1.
Russell Wilson was supposed to be the Pittsburgh Steelers’ QB1.
The Steelers traded the Chicago Bears a conditional sixth-round for Fields during a busy week of free agency. Following reports of Fields’ trade to Pittsburgh, Tomlin informed Russell Wilson that the veteran quarterback would be the starter. If Wilson performs well in Pittsburgh during the 2024 season, the Steelers want to extend his contract the following year.Justin Fields is with the Steelers to learn from Wilson.
Fields will be given the opportunity to compete for the starting position.
Fields is getting an opportunity with the Steelers that he never had with the Bears: to understand how the position is played at the NFL level in the spring while shadowing a solid starter. According to Farabaugh, Fields is happy about his current position and believes he will be able to “compete” for the starting job in the future.
“Justin will be given the opportunity to compete, and we’ll let those folks sort themselves out. But I believed it was appropriate to discuss it so that we could get started. Russell is in pole position, and I believe his corpus of work warrants it. And only from my conversations with Justin, he is excited about working alongside Russell and learning some of those veteran tricks of the trade”
What Tomlin is saying about the dynamic between Fields and Wilson for OTAs isn’t much different from what Tomlin told Kenny Pickett his plan was. Wilson will get the QB1 reps in OTAs and training camp, but Fields will have a chance to compete for the job.
The Steelers aren’t likely going to pick up Fields’ fifth-year option, as that would put them on the books for $25 million next season. But the Steelers didn’t bring Fields in to be just a backup this season. They want him to learn the position so he can lead the Steelers in seasons to come.
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