Justin Fields will not be the starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, at least not to begin the season.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin announced Wednesday that Russell Wilson will be the Steelers’ starting quarterback for their season opener against the Atlanta Falcons.
Tomlin had said from the beginning that Wilson had the “pole position” to be the Steelers’ starting quarterback, but the competition between Wilson and Fields ramped up as Wilson missed a portion of Steelers training camp with a calf injury. Fields flashed in the preseason, completing 19 of 27 passing attempts for 199 yards and rushing for 48 yards on 13 attempts, creating some intrigue as to whether the former Ohio State quarterback could steal the starting job away from Wilson, who signed a one-year, minimum-salary deal with Pittsburgh.
Justin Fields doing Justin Fields things. pic.twitter.com/j9HtjQQ2el
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) August 18, 2024
For now, however, Fields will begin the 2024 season as the Steelers’ No. 2 quarterback.
The Steelers acquired Fields by trading a 2025 sixth-round pick to the Chicago Bears, who replaced him as their starting quarterback by drafting USC’s Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick. If Fields was to play 50 percent or more of the Steelers’ offensive snaps this year, that sixth-round pick would become a fourth-round pick.
Fields is entering his fourth NFL season. The former Buckeye quarterback completed 578 of 958 passing attempts for 6,674 yards and 40 touchdowns with 30 interceptions and ran for 2,220 yards and 14 touchdowns in 40 games with the Bears over the past three years.
