In a quarterback battle for the first time since his rookie training camp, Russell Wilson has already run into limitations due to a calf injury. This gave Justin Fields a chance to receive steady first-string reps. While Pittsburgh’s latest preseason game did not go well on offense, practice work has narrowed this competition.
Neither Fields nor Wilson averaged more than 5.5 yards per attempt against the Bills, the latter’s preseason debut with his new team. Fields was 11-for-17 with 92 yards, while Wilson was 8-for-10 for 47 yards. The younger passer added 42 yards on the ground. The Steelers did not score a touchdown in that game, inviting early concerns for a franchise that has not exactly enjoyed reliable quarterback play since before Ben Roethlisberger‘s 2019 elbow injury.
After Wilson entered camp in pole position, Fields’ car appears to be closer to the veteran’s rearview mirror. The Steelers have naturally been impressed with Fields’ athleticism, to the point Yahoo.com’s Charles Robinson indicates the team views his run-game dynamism as a facet that could help provide cover while he continues to develop as a passer. That produced uneven results for the Bears, though they likely would have retained the 2021 first-rounder had an opportunity to land Caleb Williams not come up. Nevertheless, Robinson adds Fields’ odds of overtaking Wilson have improved since the offseason program.
This follows an early-camp report suggesting Fields was making strides toward the starting job. The Steelers were clear in the offseason Wilson would be the starter, with this information coming out immediately after the Fields trade occurred. This early confidence represented an interesting vote of confidence given what transpired in Denver. Wilson, 35, indeed fared better under Sean Payton compared to Nathaniel Hackett. The ex-Seahawks star cited his multiple 2022 injuries as the lead reason for his stunning regression that year, but he now finds himself battling a much younger player for a job.
Rumors about Pittsburgh exploring another contract for Wilson and/or Fields came up during the offseason, and Robinson adds the Steelers believe their long-term quarterback is indeed on the current roster. Both players’ deals expire after the season, and the Steelers will not adjust their in-season negotiating policy for this unique situation. This season will double as a critical fact-finding mission, as the team just bailed on its would-be Roethlisberger successor by unloading Kenny Pickett in a rather messy breakup.
Team brass appears pleased with the decision to move on from its QBs from last season, with Robinson adding the club is relieved not to observe another Pickett-Mitch Trubisky QB room prepare for a season. Pittsburgh’s initial post-Big Ben plan did not work, and team brass was disappointed by the previous setup’s lack of production downfield and lack of ability as playmakers. Fields, 25, certainly provides important playmaking elements but is a work in progress as a passer. Both he and Wilson have also shown a propensity to take an alarming number of sacks. Wilson took 100 during his Broncos tenure. Fields absorbed 99 in that span, with each tying for the league high (55) in 2022.
Tomlin did not call Payton about Wilson, per ESPN’s Sal Palantonio (h/t Pro Football Talk). The reference probably would not have been glowing, given the end between Denver’s HC and former QB, but the Steelers are taking a chance the potential Hall of Famer still has starter-level ability.
“I did not,” Tomlin said of placing a call to Payton. “It’s my job and our job to determine that. And so I don’t run away from responsibilities. It’s just Steelers conducting Steelers business, man. We information gather. We do our appropriate research, and we make decisions and we don’t look back. We don’t seek comfort from the opinion of others that are non-Steelers, respectfully. That’s just how we go about our business.”
The team will soon make its determination, and the fallout from Fields winning would certainly be more interesting than what would happen if Wilson held off the fourth-year passer.
And with the 1st overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft the pittsburgh steelers select
Shedeur Sanders QB Colorado
They would have to let Tomlin go also. I think Shedeur is a package with Dad.
Dad gets hired too lol
Wait another season to see how many people still think Deon is a good head coach….
It would be like really high level little league with dad as board member and coach ..lol
The steelers would never do that.
The Steelers won 10 games last year with a worse quarterback situation, a worse offensive play caller, a less talented offensive line, and arguably a worse overall roster. Neither of these QBs is bad enough to crater them that badly.
If they play Wilson they’ll be fine
If they play fields they’ll definitely be in the running for 1st overall pick.
Something he already helped the bears get. And Arthur smith being oc doesn’t help much.
And last year he helped a Bears team with a much worse roster end up with the 9th overall pick. He’s better than Pickett and Rudolph.
“Much worse roster”
No they were pretty comparable on offense and defense.
Defense
Bears had an 88 passer rating Steelers 85.
Bears allowed 1500 rush yards while Steelers allowed 2000
Offense. Both teams ended the year with 3400 pass yards. Steelers had 2000 rush yards cs bears 2300.
The difference being Steelers got rid of Johnson making the WR room weaker.
As things currently stand
Pickens Jefferson Wilson Feiermuth and the rest aren’t better than Moore Mooney Kmet Claypool talent wise. Playing with fields literally ruined Claypools career and dragged down Mooneys.
You’re seriously listing Claypool as a good player and a victim of Fields? You’re also leaving out strength of schedule.
Anyway, this is tangential to my main point, which is that the Steelers are too good a team to finish as one of the very worst in the league, as evidenced by them managing to win 10 games last year with an even worse QB situation and one of the worst play callers in football.
Playing with fields ruined his career. Dude was never the same after.
Fields is gonna tank that passing offense like he did in Chicago and they’d be lucky to win 5 games if he plays all season. Roster got worse for fields
Do you live in an alternate reality where Claypool was ever a consistently good player? He flashed a couple of times, but the guy has three 100 yard receiving games in his whole career, two of them in his rookie year. His failures are not Fields’ fault. There are a lot of worse rosters in football than Pittsburgh’s.
I live in a reality where Claypool was productive as a #2 in Pittsburgh, traded to the bears played with fields, and was never the same.
The same universe where Mooney posted 1000 yards prior to fields but barely cracked 400 in two seasons with fields.
Also the same one where fields barely completes 60% of his passes
What reality are you living in? One devoid of facts?
I’ve cited facts. Claypool was never the best self he flashed on a regular basis. He had 311 yards in 8 games for the Bears before he was traded in 2022. They were done with him. Here’s another fun fact: Fields threw the most passes for the Bears the year Mooney had 1000 yards.
Was a decent # 2 for 3 years in Pitt even with shaky qb performance and Matt Canada behind the scenes. Went to chi and flamed out.
Speaking of fun facts:
Mooneys production with fields at QB wasn’t near what it was with Andy Dalton that year
Fields threw 270 passes completed 58%
Dalton threw 236 completed 63%
Roughly 600 of Mooneys 1000 yards came with Dalton at Qb, which is right in line with Mooney only reaching 400 yards with fields in 21 22 and 23
Facts are fun.
I’m not interested in having any more of this particular back and forth with you. If the Steelers have a top three pick without trading up, feel free to rub it in my face. But anyone with a lick of football sense knows that’s not happening.
I get it. Facts hurt.
Claypool was a decent #2 in Pitt. 800 each of his first 2 seasons. Was on pace for 700 or so his 3rd season with Pickett Trubinsky. Johnson/Pickens only finished with 800 each so Claypool wasn’t far off had he stayed. He also would have been 2nd on the team in receptions if his 2nd half matched his first. But hey those pesky pesky facts again.
Dude cratered playing with fields. Same way Mooneys production took a hit. Cause Fields is a bad qb and if the Steelers start him all season they’ll be in the running for the 1st pick overall.
You live in a dram world Claypool sucks 4 teams could not wait to get rid of him
4 !
You are the only person on the planet who thinks Claypool is good
Your reading comprehension is subpar
I’ve called Claypool talented (which his is, he has all the physical traits to be a good wr) and I called him a decent #2 in Pitt.
Show me where I called him good. I’ll wait.
Claypool will be in the UFl in a few weeks
Mooney had 1,000 yards under Fields
Claypool is complete trash
After his 1st year, Claypool has been a disaster. A total headcase who only played a handful of games with the Bears before they dumped him. Claypool ruined Claypool.
1st year
62 catches 879 yards 9 tds
2nd year
59 catches 860 yards 2 tds
Prior to the bears trade he was on pace for about 700 yards and 3 or so TDs with Kenny Pickett and Trubinsky at QB.
Fields is a god awful QB. Ruined not 1 but 2 receivers who were productive before they played with him (Mooney, Claypool).
Steelers will be lucky to win 5 games if he’s QB all season.
And where is that “mega star” now? Is it still Field’s fault? Right.
Steelers won 10 games with Kenny Pickett
Fields is way better than Pickett
@I Believe- Some of these takes you shared are wild.
Facts are facts man
Field sucks
Rosters were equally bad equally “productive”
Claypool was a decent #2 in Pitt goes and plays with fields and just fell apart. Same with Mooney who was productive prior to fields but barely cracked 400 yards both years with fields at qb
Completing 60% of your passes isn’t very good.
Arthur Smith held back the Atlanta offense for only god knows why he refuses to use his weapons.
Suggesting Claypool was ruined by Fields is not only not a fact, it’s an insane stretching of the truth. Dude was non-existent in the Pitt offense in year 3. He does not (and never did) put up explosive stat outputs with any QB.
Citing all those team stats without context is also silly.
“Non existent”
Still on pace for 700 yards and 3 TDs with Trubinsky and Pickett at QB where Johnson and Pickett wound up with 800 a piece that year.
And he still finished 4th in receiving yards for the Steelers after being traded lmao.
His 32 catches in 8 games were half of what Feirmuth finished with (63) and Pickens only had 20 more receptions the entire season (52) in 9 games since the trade.
But yeah he was “non existent”. Speaking of not using context. You should work on that.
Fact still remains. Prior to playing with Fields he was a decent #2 option even with crappy QB play in Pickett and Trubinsky. Went and played with fields and was never the same.
“But yeah he was “non existent”. Speaking of not using context. You should work on that.”
It’s comical that you’re trying to act like 700/3 is even decent production from this “#2 WR”–which isn’t actually what his output would have been if you averaged it out correctly. He had 32/311/1 in 8 games so it would have been 660 and 2.125 TD. That’s closer to non-existent than a number 2 WR. He had zero 100 yard games in those 8. He had one game with 50+ yards and it was 50 exactly.
I don’t think you know what context is. Context would be to not be disingenuous and acknowledge that he only started 3 games in Chicago. It would be to acknowledge that his snap count was reduced significantly from 57.75 snaps per game to 28.57 snaps per game. He went from 311 yards in 462 snaps (0.673 yds per snap) in Pitt to 140 yards in 200 snaps (0.7 yds per snap) in Chicago. He was actually more effective on a per-snap basis in Chicago. That just goes to show that you blaming it solely on Fields and not acknowledging his own shortcomings enough is misguided. Chicago’s passing attack as a whole sucked, and when Cole Kmet is the best option, it’s really easy to shut down the whole offense. And even he somehow managed to have a great catch rate and decent production. If Claypool was such a great WR he would’ve forced his way on to the field and produced despite who his QB was, like many other WR2s have.
“And he still finished 4th in receiving yards for the Steelers after being traded lmao.”
Idk why this is shocking or funny to you. They had Diontae (147 targets), Pickens (84), and Freiermuth (98). Once Claypool was passed up, he was expendable because a 4th option wasn’t going to be useful in another below-average passing attack which also happened to be top-heavy, both of which are reflected in the statistics.
Claypool had already turned into a pumpkin here in PGH before the trade.
Blame the Bears pro scouting staff, not Fields, for that one.
A #33 pick for him was just the nicest gift.
Johnson couldn’t even hold on to glue if it were leaking.
Johnson would be WR1 on the current Steelers….
He wasn’t when he was.
He was for the past 3 lol but yeah OK
Nor would he be today.
If you think the Bears defense is as good as the Steelers that is hysterical
Ruined Claypools career LMAO the dude is a bum. Steelers did not want him so they got rid of him. Bears could not wait to get rid of him. Miami cut him. Buffalo cut him.
Holy jesus delete this post before someone sees it
Being better than something that isn’t very good doesn’t make it good!
I can’t even tell which comment you’re referring to, but this is not a probable bottom five team, not by a long shot.
Bears were a bottom 5 team with fields last year finishing 5-8 under him. Only reason they finished 7-10 was cause Bagent did enough to go 2-2. Mainly completing passes at a decent rate and not turning the ball over in wins.
The record has a lot to do with defense. The Bears gave up 9 fewer points per game after trading for Sweat. Fields was already 1-4 when that happened. Bagent actually threw interceptions and fumbled the ball at a higher rate than Fields did.
@Oooof I wouldn’t agree he’s “better”. Watching him for 3 years, it’s the same thing. Flashes of athletic brilliance, a strong arm. But then come the fumbles, the running without even seeing the WRs, the inability to find WR2 or WR3, and unnecessary sacks. We already saw some of that in the preseason with Fields. Mason and Rudolph aren’t as athletic, but I’ll bet they can read WRs better than Fields can.
I’m not even a big Fields fan, but at least his strengths are actually strong.
Comical saying they’ll be fine under Rus. You must have not watched any games of his the last 2 1/2 seasons or picked up that he’s looked arguable slower to start this season. Father Time waits for no one and his problems and limitations have been consistently put to light. The best chance the Steelers have this season is to hope fields learned from his mistakes and keeps improving, there’s much more upside and puts the Steelers in a better chance to succeed.
They got the 1st pick because of how bad the Panthers were
It had nothing to do with Fields.
There is a zero percent chance the Steelers end up with the first overall pick, unless they make a trade. New England is in a much, much worse situation. They have a rookie QB with absolutely no offensive talent around him. The Giants look abysmal, and the coaching situation in NY is awful.
Pittsburgh has some pieces, and they’re largely a well run organization. Yes, there are flaws, and the division is tough. At worst though, I think they’re at least a 6 win team if the wheels completely fell off.
Second over will be sanders. First is Carson beck
If they can mix in some creative runs and find a way to scheme guys open, Fields could excel. I don’t think he’s ever had a coach that built an offense around his strengths. Steelers are in a great spot to try.
I kind of had the same thought and with the Raiders hiring OC Luke Getsy, no brainer. When the Raiders wouldn’t give up a conditional 4th for Fields, alarms went off. Getsy was able to help Fields improve over the last two seasons, and he apparently would rather work with Gardner Minshew.
That’s a big thing that went into the decision to dump Fields. Coaches and the GM see him practice everyday. Fields didn’t improve. Period. I’ll bet Getsy wanted to stay as far away from Fields as he could. Many Fields fanboys claimed it was Getsy’s fault. Let’s see this year how well Getsy does in LV. I’ll bet LV 2024 offense does better than CHI 2023 offense.
Instead of designing the offense around Field’s strengths he kept trying to make him who he isn’t- a straight pocket passer.
What kind of offense do you design for a QB that can’t see past WR1? Or who takes off running and his OL doesn’t know where he is? Getsy ran a very simple west coast O
A one read college read option, like they have to design for Kyler Murray?
Getsy is trash I feel bad for Minshew
The other way to say this: Fields is less bad.
The real headline should be: ‘Wilson lets starting job slip away’.
I mean if you were gonna tank anyways….
It’s gonna be a long year especially with the second half of the schedule. Maybe 6 games are won?
If he starts what does the conditional pick they sent the Bears become?
It goes from a 6th to a 4th if he plays 51% of the snaps. Given his tendency to get banged up, even getting the starting role right out of the gate is no guarantee.
To be fair, both guys are trying to adjust to a new team while learning a new offense. That takes time for a lot of QBs. Neither has exactly taken off yet, but I don’t see how you don’t give the starting job to Fields because he is ten years younger than Russ. You can at least evaluate what you have that way. I’m also a fan of Fields’ athletic abilities and leadership.
I wouldn’t completely write off Russ; but if he plays his absolute best (which he hasn’t) they’re a 9 or 10 win team in a tough division. I just don’t see the upside there.
Once the offensive line settles in, either QB will be fine. They will be starting a 2nd year tackle a 1st year tackle and center….give them time to play together as a unit
And I think Fields will show that he will get an extension and be the QB for the next 6 to 8 years
Read Madden’s column in today’s TribLive
Many fans were happy with the prospect of Rudolph stepping in this season. He earned a shot after last season
Instead, they allowed him to walk
I hope we don’t get to a point where we’re longing for the days of Mason Rudolph this year.
Yeah, the consistent writing off of Mason Rudolph is what I don’t get. The Steelers belly laughed at the prospect of him starting…and then traded a pick for Fields and spent money to sign Wilson. Neither required much compensation, but you already had a guy who earned a shot and got you into the playoffs. Presumably the players noticed this, as well. It’s not like Pittsburgh grabbed a for sure upgrade, here.
Fields runs a lot, so people think he’s more exciting, and Wilson has a ton of experience, but I don’t see how either of those strengths in real time is categorically better than Rudolph right now. They seem comparable in the grand scheme of things, with a perhaps a slight edge to Wilson for reasons of experience and championship pedigree.
I can’t blame Mason for opting to sign elsewhere. The kid was lied to repeatedly, kept his head down, waited for his shot and won over the locker room. You could see and feel the difference when they finally turned to him. And in the Steelers’ minds, it meant nothing
MonkeysUncle is right. It’s just preseason. Fans have to give it time. But does anyone see anything so far that provides a glimpse of a marked difference between the Canada-Pickett era and what we have now?
Wilson will be starting week 1. Fields will see some plays, but the Steelers success has been winning the turnover game the last few years. They will try to ride Wilson and that same path to success this year. The back half of the schedule is brutal and at that point Fields may be given his chance.
Agreed. Wilson didn’t sign with them to play anything but starter. Fields can’t be trusted to be consistent enough to take the starter role. He’s a career backup at best.
Speaking for the rest of the AFC North , please start Fields !
I’ve been pretty consistent in wanting an open competition and noting that Fields has a useful upside while Wilson is just treading water, at best. On paper.
In reality…if Tomlin can get this team to 9-8, they should rename the Lombardi after him.
With the giant asterisk that the O line might be so bad, it might not matter what either guy does…
Wilson has shown why teams keep driving him to the airport.
But, (finally) seeing Fields in action, I see why people are ready to write him off. He’s smaller than I realized, for one. Iffy reads.
BUT…he’s the best they got.
Ride him and give him a chance and be ready to draft a first round QB if he doesn’t surprise you.
Iffy Reads – wasn’t he in GnR?
Not many people will appreciate just how good this joke is, but…I am one of them. Excellent work.
Does it matter? Both QBs showed us they max out at about 7 wins on their own ability, then add a win for experienced coaching, one win for TJ Watt/other players, but subtract a couple for schedule difficulty and you get the Vegas over/under number (7.5-8.5). Too good to get a good QB in the 2025 draft, but not good enough to make the playoffs.
That’s an interesting formula you’re proposing but every team will be screwed by the game officials at least once during the season so you might want to include that metric as well.
Steelers are a cluster f.
Maybe, maybe not. Regardless, the Ravens will figure out a way to split with them in 24.
Steelers country, let’s ride (the bench).
Let Russ cook… I mean, Russ is cooked!