Pilar Rossi
The door remains open for Justin Fields.
The Steelers quarterback, who was listed as the backup behind Russell Wilson on Tuesday’s depth chart, is set to start in the team’s preseason opener against the AFC North rival Baltimore Ravens on Friday.
With Wilson, the nine-time Pro-Bowler, recovering from a calf injury he sustained at the start of training camp, the former Bears signal-caller has taken the bulk of first-team reps in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.
“I think he just comes to compete every day,” Tomlin said, per ESPN. “He’s got awesome competitive spirit. We got a competitive environment, and it seems like he’s enjoying it. He’s doing a really good job of acclimating himself to it and to his teammates and letting his talent show.”
Tomlin told reporters on Wednesday that Wilson would not play in the exhibition opener and that Fields would get “a couple of series” as the field general.
However, Tomlin reiterated that his plans for Wilson to be the starter remain unchanged for now.
“You guys saw the depth chart that I released yesterday,” the 53-year-old coach said. “That is real.”
Wilson, who signed a one-year veteran’s minimum salary of $1.21 million with the franchise in March, participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday for the first time since the injury.
Though his QB1 is on the brink of a comeback, Tomlin is not closing the door on Fields just yet.
“I think everything is an audition,” the veteran coach said. “Everything that we do is an audition not only for him [Fields] but for others.
“What happens in stadium is weighted heavier than what happens in practice.”
Fields, a first-round pick by the Bears in the 2021 draft, knows the opportunity is there to seized and remains focused on improving his game.
“I’m just trying to take advantage of each and every rep that I get,” Fields said. “I know that if he wasn’t hurt, then I wouldn’t be in this position. So it’s just opportunities for me. I’m just trying to take full advantage of it, to be honest with you, but I’m trying to just approach every practice the same, get better each and every day and just build that chemistry.”
Both Fields and Wilson came to Steel City during the offseason.
“We’ve been very transparent about the pecking order, at least to start,” Tomlin said in March, when both signed. “I just think that provides clarity for all parties involved. Russell is a veteran, man… He’s just got a lot of experience in terms of what it takes to be the guy over the course of a 12-month calendar and I just think that that’s something that a younger guy like Justin could learn from.”
