The expectation all along has been that Russell Wilson would begin the season as the Pittsburgh Steelers' starting quarterback, with Justin Fields serving as the backup.
And for good reason, as head coach Mike Tomlin stated earlier this offseason that Wilson was in the "pole position" to land the starting job, something he reiterated at the start of training camp.
"Nothing has changed," Tomlin told reporters when players reported last week.
However, ESPN's Dan Graziano not only believes that Wilson's absence early on in camp has opened the door for Fields and that the situation is closer than we think, he also predicts that Fields will leave training camp as the starter.
It's easy to listen to the chatter around this situation and just assume Wilson has it all sewed up, but after visiting Steelers camp and talking to people there, I am not so sure. Pittsburgh isn't financially committed to either guy in any significant way. The coaching staff has no prior attachment to either and no preconceived notions about either. In that way, this is a unique quarterback competition that could absolutely still go either way -- especially if Wilson misses more practice time and Fields gets a better chance than expected to close the race.
Week 1 starter prediction: It's a lot more of a coin flip than most think, and I believe that part of the reason the Steelers have set Wilson up as the leader in the competition is because they believe that's the best way to manage him. But I'm going to go out on a limb here and say Fields will show enough through camp to catch him and claim the Week 1 starting spot. I know most people disagree, and I am fully prepared to be wrong. But the vibes didn't start off great for Wilson, and I just think the Steelers are going to be too tempted by Fields' upside once they see them both out there. The question then would become whether Wilson is on the team at all.
While Fields has no doubt done some good things with his opportunities with the first-team offense in Wilson's absence over the first four practices, it's hard to say he's shown enough to improve his standing.
We'll get a better idea of where things stand once Wilson hits the field this week, but it's going to take a lot more than what we've seen thus far for him to lose his "pole position" for the starting job.
