Ahead of the 2024 NFL season, longtime Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin looked prepared to make veteran newcomer Russell Wilson the starting quarterback.
Although Justin Fields made a case for the job, the safe bet seemed to be to go with Wilson, and if he struggled then turn to the younger and more mobile player.
However, a calf injury that Wilson was dealing with toward the end of the preseason shed doubts on whether he could start in Week 1.
Ultimately, Fields got the start and has successfully held the job for the first four games, resulting in a record of 3-1, with Pittsburgh suffering its first loss against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 4.
Wilson is getting closer to being ready to return, which has started the quarterback controversy all over again, but that hasn’t kept Fields from focusing on what he needs to do moving forward.
“No, not really,” Fields said, via Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “Just keep doing what I’ve been doing. Whatever decision he (Tomlin) makes, he makes. I can only control what I do on the field, but no, I’m just going to go out there and keep doing what I’ve been doing.”
Justin Fields answering @WillGravesAP question on if he feels extra pressure this week to show he deserves to keep playing, what with Russell Wilson’s injury status improving pic.twitter.com/JY3x1xARgu
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) October 3, 2024
With Fields proving that he’s a good option for the Steelers, even though he hasn’t lit up the scoreboard so far, it’ll be interesting to see what Tomlin and his staff decide to do once Wilson is cleared to play.
It might be safer to stick with what has been working rather than make a change that could end up derailing the season, especially if Fields is winning over his teammates.
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