While Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has made it quite clear that Russell Wilson is the favorite to be the team's starting quarterback, Pittsburgh still considers the job at least somewhat up for grabs between he and Justin Fields.
Fields has gained momentum through the first two weeks of training camp as he's made the most of his first-team reps with Wilson working his way back from a calf injury.
However, it's difficult to fully gauge where he stands until his performance can be compared to Wilson's, something that can't happen until he's full participant. So far, Wilson hasn't taken part in 11-on-11 or seven shots in training camp.
ESPN's Dan Graziano recently touched on the situation under center in Pittsburgh and said that the team is "open-minded" to the possibility of Fields starting over Wilson.
The Steelers ultimately will get into practices as serious as any in the league. This doesn't apply to the quarterbacks, of course, but Pittsburgh remains one of the very few (if not the only) teams in the NFL that still hits and tackles to the ground in training camp practices. So the Steelers will get a real sense of how the offense is operating and whether Fields can bring things to it that Wilson can't. Fields definitely has work to do to catch Wilson in the race for the starting job, but the Steelers are open-minded about his ability to do so. The important thing to keep in mind here is that the Steelers have no prior connection to either of these quarterbacks and no compelling financial commitment that would lead them to favor one over the other. So when they say it's an open competition and Fields has a chance, believe them.
Graziano adds that Fields "has ground to make up in this competition" after Wilson entered camp off a better spring showing.
On Saturday, Tomlin addressed the quarterback situation and reiterated that Wilson remains the favorite for the job. However, he did not say that Wilson has the job wrapped up.
"I think I've been pretty consistent in my position (with the quarterback situation)," Tomlin said. "I've characterized it as pole position for Russell, and the reason I have is, certainly they're competing, but I don't overly concern ourselves with being fair; there's no such thing as 50/50.
"And so, we just pay respect to the totality of (Wilson's) resume and his experience. We lean on it, we'll allow him to lead the group informally in terms of some of the things he's done to produce the type of career he has. There's growth opportunity for Justin in that. Justin has absorbed a lot of responsibility since coming into the league. It's probably a great opportunity for him to work alongside day-to-day somebody at his position that's done it longer and done it at a high level. But, rest assured, both guys are going to be given an opportunity to show their skills over the course of the next month and I'm excited about watching them sort themselves out."
There's no denying that Fields has helped his cause with a strong showing in Wilson's absence, but it's impossible to say he's threatening his counterpart's standing as the favorite until Wilson gets on the field for a full practice and struggles in comparison to Fields.
