The Pittsburgh Steelers signed Russell Wilson during the 2024 NFL offseason to be their starting quarterback. He hasn’t yet gotten a chance to operate in that role, as a calf injury kept him out of the team’s first five games.
Wilson finally returned to the active roster to back up Justin Fields in Week 6, and soon, the 35-year-old quarterback may get his first chance to start for the Steelers despite Fields leading the team to a 4-2 record in Wilson’s absence.
Here’s what to know about the Steelers’ quarterback battle as a now-healthy Wilson prepares to challenge Justin Fields for the starting job.
Is Russell Wilson starting this week?
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin outlined that Wilson is ‘in consideration’ to start Pittsburgh’s Week 7 game against the New York Jets. During a news conference on Oct. 15, the long-time Steelers coach said Wilson and Fields’ performances in practice would determine which quarterback gets the nod in Week 7.
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‘I got comfortable with his ability to display his health [last week],’ Tomlin said of Wilson, per ESPN. ‘Now it’s about knocking the rust off. He is in consideration this week. We’ll see where that leads us, man. Both guys at the quarterback position are scheduled to work [Wednesday], and we’ll just walk it day by day. All geared toward putting ourselves in best position to win the football game.’
Tomlin explained that would involve Wilson getting first-team reps ‘at some point,’ but he still had to figure out a definite plan at the position.
‘I hadn’t decided who gets the ball first,’ Tomlin explained, referencing Wilson and Fields splitting reps in practice. ‘That sort of minutiae has been undecided.’
The Steelers benching Fields in favor of Wilson would be unprecedented. Fields has helped guide the Steelers to a 4-2 record through six weeks, and no healthy quarterback has failed to start his seventh game after posting that type of record in the Super Bowl era, per NFL researcher Blake Warye.
Still, Tomlin left the door open for Wilson while lauding the job Fields has done since being thrown into the fire in his first season with the Steelers.
‘Justin has been really good, and we’ve been really good at times, but not to be confused with great,’ Tomlin said. ‘Man, this is a competitive league. We’re trying to position ourselves to be that team, and we got a player with talent who hadn’t had an opportunity to play, so we’re going to potentially explore those things.’
‘Sometimes it doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with what Justin has done or has not done. Justin has been an asset to us. Last week, for example, his ability to utilize his legs by design and by ad-lib was a significant component of that game. He rushed 50-plus yards and two touchdowns in game and so we’re appreciative of that. We’re appreciative of how he’s taking care of the ball, but we’re just looking at all the people at our disposal the same way that we do at any position.’
That evaluation process could lead the Steelers to start Wilson if they deem him the team’s best option against the Jets. Tomlin also didn’t rule out playing both quarterbacks in Week 7.
‘Certainly, there’s a scenario,’ Tomlin said when asked about playing Fields and Wilson in tandem. ‘There could have been a scenario where that could have occurred last week.’
As such, the Steelers quarterback battle looks wide open heading into Week 7. And even if Fields can stave off competition from Wilson against the Jets, he figures to have the veteran breathing down his neck for the rest of the 2024 NFL season.
Steelers QB depth chart
The Steelers have three quarterbacks on their 53-man roster. They are as follows:
Justin Fields
Russell Wilson
Kyle Allen
Wilson entered training camp expected to be Pittsburgh’s starter but dropped to No. 3 in the pecking order after a preseason calf injury. He leapfrogged Allen on the depth chart ahead of Week 6 and hopes to do the same to Fields in the coming weeks.