The quarterback situation for the Pittsburgh Steelers drastically changed on Wednesday. Justin Fields has been the team’s starting quarterback through the first five games of the season as Russell Wilson battles a calf injury he suffered before training camp this summer.
Fields led the Steelers to a 3-0 start. However, Pittsburgh has lost two straight contests. Questions surfaced about whether Fields would retain the starting job after the Steelers scored just 17 points in a loss to the Dallas Cowboys at home on Sunday night.
Justin Fields has been OK, but not great
Pittsburgh Steelers, Justin Fields
Oct 6, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields (2) runs the ball against the Dallas Cowboys during the first quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Fields is 92-of-236 for 961 yards, five touchdowns, and one interception this season. He’s added 172 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Fields numbers have been enough to keep Pittsburgh in the hunt to win the AFC North, but the offense could use a little more juice than the game-management style of play the former Chicago Bears quarterback provides.
Things could be getting heated up this week before the Steelers play the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. The Raiders also have questions at quarterback this season and announced on Wednesday they plan to roll with second-year quarterback Aidan O’Connell against the Steelers.
The situation in Pittsburgh appears to be fluid.
Russell Wilson returns to Pittsburgh Steelers’ practice
Pittsburgh Steelers, Russell Wilson
Sep 29, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson (3) stretches for warm ups before the game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images
Per the Steelers’ website, Wilson was a full participant at practice on Wednesday, the first time he’s been a full participant since the regular season started. Head coach Mike Tomlin said this week that Pittsburgh’s situation is “different” this week, but wanted to wait to see how the veteran quarterback does in practice before deciding to move on from Fields.
“First, we’ll see if (Wilson is) able to obviously pull it off and get through the session,” Tomlin said. “And if he does, what does the quality of that work look like. His ability to protect himself, etc., are some of the conversations that we’ve been having, but just in a hypothetical way.”
Wilson worked with the second team on Wednesday. Tomlin wanted Fields to work with the first team while the team evaluated how mobile Wilson was at practice.
If Wilson shows he’s the better quarterback in practice, the Steelers could make a quarterback switch soon.
Sep 22, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin watches warmups for a game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images
Sep 22, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin watches warmups for a game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Acrisure Stadium.
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