The Pittsburgh Steelers have named Russell Wilson the starting quarterback for the regular season, the team announced on Wednesday.
Wilson, who head coach Mike Tomlin said this offseason was in "pole" position to win the job, gets the nod over Justin Fields to open the season on the road against the Falcons in Week 1.
Tomlin said Wednesday he met with both quarterbacks, informing them of what he called a "difficult decision."
Wilson, 35, had been battling Fields, 25, for the job all offseason after they were acquired within weeks of each other. Although Tomlin indicated Wilson was the front-runner for the job entering camp, Wilson’s calf injury midway through opened the door for Fields.
Fields could not make up the ground necessary, however, while Wilson remained sidelined. Wilson held off Fields’ immediate challenge and played only one series in the Steelers’ preseason finale, which seemed to indicate which way Tomlin was leaning.
In limited preseason work, Wilson completed 10 of 12 passes for 73 yards. Fields was 19-of-27 passing for 199 yards this preseason, also leading the Steelers with 48 rushing yards.
Wilson’s career has been in gradual decline the past few years, although he had a better season statistically with the Broncos in 2023 since being traded from the Seahawks two years prior, throwing for 26 TDs and only eight interceptions and running for three more scores in 15 starts.
The Broncos benched Wilson late last season and released him this offseason, taking a massive salary-cap hit of $53 million in the process. The Steelers are only paying $1.2 million of Wilson’s salary this season. That’s less than they’re paying Fields, who is making more than $3.2 million in the final year of his rookie contract after being traded from the Bears following the signing of Wilson.
Now comes the question of how long Wilson will keep the job. Tomlin showed last year that he’s open to making a midseason QB change, although the benching of 2023 starter Kenny Pickett didn’t technically occur until he returned from injury and didn’t get his job back.
Tomlin also continued to insist that the Steelers were conducting a legitimate QB battle during camp in spite of Wilson taking the majority of first-team reps prior to his injury. The Steelers appeared to want Fields to challenge Wilson, but it came up short.
Fields figures to play at some point this season, as he’s set to be a free agent next spring after starting 38 games for the Bears over the past three years, accounting for 54 touchdowns (40 passing, 14 rushing).
Tomlin indicated that packages with Fields on the field are “certainly on the table,” and he said the Steelers are “open to weaponizing” Fields’ athletic ability, per ESPN.com, even while reiterating that Wilson was his unquestioned QB1 for now.
Wilson has started 14 or more games in each of his 12 NFL seasons, and he’ll have a chance to add another year to that streak. But he’ll have to keep the Steelers afloat in the tough AFC North division or risk the QB competition rekindling at some point during the regular season.