The Pittsburgh Steelers have long considered Russell Wilson as the favorite to start under center, but he has never been named the starter definitively, as head coach Mike Tomlin still wants a competition between Wilson and Justin Fields.
So, the last thing Wilson wanted to do was give Fields any daylight as the pair battle it out for the starting job. However, Wilson's injury has done just that.
Blame it on whoever you want, but Wilson hurt himself pushing a sled during the conditioning test on the same day players first reported for training camp.
Since then, Wilson has yet to take part in practice fully. He's done work in seven-on-seven and in individual drills this past week, but he hasn't taken part in 11-on-11 or seven shots. In his absence in those two periods, Fields has taken the first-team reps and, by all accounts, he's making the most of his opportunity.
Wilson recently sat down with NFL Network and touched on his status and what he's been doing in practice.
"I'm feeling really good right now," Wilson said. "I think Coach Tomlin wants me to be smart. Face it, it's been nine days since injury. So, but I'm out there getting all the reps in terms of fundamental work and then one-on-ones and routes on air, and then obviously seven on seven, too.
"So, the team drills, all the handoffs and all that, we're just preventing from anything crazy happening, especially when you've got T.J. Watt rushing over there."
While hype for Fields starting continues to build in the media, Tomlin has not changed his stance about Wilson being in the "pole position," something he said back in March and has reiterated multiple times now, including when he sat down with Kay Adams on Saturday afternoon.
"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."
Who currently has the EDGE in the Steelers QB competition... Russell Wilson OR Justin Fields?? 🔊
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) August 3, 2024
@CoachTomlin @steelers @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/JNv3Kgt2NL
As far as when he'll finally take part in a full practice remains unclear, but Wilson did tell the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he's "getting closer and closer."
While Fields certainly deserves credit for the strong showing he's had in camp thus far, using that alone to say he's making ground on Wilson's "pole position" before being able to compare their respective bodies of work in full practices is short-sighted. Thankfully, it appears we're on the verge of being able to do that.
