Justin Fields had his best chance to earn the Pittsburgh Steelers QB1 job last week when Russell Wilson missed the start of training camp due to a calf injury. The calf injury could cost Wilson more than the starting job.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Wilson was in the pole position this spring to win the QB1 job. Last week, he said nothing had changed since OTAs.
Russell Wilson outplayed Justin Fields this spring
According to Dan Graziano of ESPN, Wilson outplayed Fields this spring:
“Everything I’ve heard on this for the past month or so has been that Wilson looked better in OTAs and minicamp. He entered training camp as the clear leader in the competition.“
Justin Fields has been up-and-down at practice
Wilson had most of the first-team reps this spring. Fields now has a chance to show what he can do with the first team. Per Mark Kaboly of The Athletic, Fields has been up and down at practice in training camp:
Fields took the majority of the snaps Thursday and pretty much duplicated what we saw at OTAs and minicamp a few months back. At times he looked like a first-round pick, and at times he looked like a guy who is still trying to find his way with accuracy and consistency.
Wilson could be cut after training camp
Graziano thinks Fields could overtake Wilson for the starting spot soon in training camp. He suggested the Steelers could cut Wilson from the 53-man roster before Week 1:
It’s a lot more of a coin flip than most think, and I believe that part of the reason the Steelers have set Wilson up as the leader in the competition is because they believe that’s the best way to manage him. But I’m going to go out on a limb here and say Fields will show enough through camp to catch him and claim the Week 1 starting spot.
I know most people disagree, and I am fully prepared to be wrong. But the vibes didn’t start off great for Wilson, and I just think the Steelers are going to be too tempted by Fields’ upside once they see them both out there. The question then would become whether Wilson is on the team at all.
Cutting Wilson before Week 1 would be a drastic move from the Steelers front office. They have Wilson signed to the veteran minimum this season, and one would think having a veteran backup like Wilson would be helpful if they start Fields, a quarterback who suffered a long list of injuries during his first three seasons with the Chicago Bears.
However, Wilson appeared to win over the locker room this spring. The front office might have to cut Wilson to keep the team united if Wilson isn’t happy being Fields’ backup.
