Instant Analysis: Russell Wilson Wins Steelers Starting QB Job

DETROIT — You can go ahead and say it, even if Mike Tomlin hasn’t yet. Russell Wilson is the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starting quarterback.

Wilson got his second start of the preseason against the Detroit Lions on Saturday. Wilson wasn’t necessarily bad in his Steelers debut against the Buffalo Bills the previous week, but the entire offense around him struggled to the point that it was tough to get a good read on where Wilson stood after an early-camp calf injury.

He came out against the Lions on Saturday, and looked like the player he has all training camp at St. Vincent College: a poised and accurate-passing leader of the offense.

Wilson hit George Pickens for a huge third-down conversion to keep that first drive alive. His only other completion was to Pickens on a screen that lost yardage. 

Tomlin had seen enough.

Wilson was given pole position in the Steelers quarterback competition months ago. The Steelers gave Justin Fields plenty of chances to win the job, holding Wilson out for weeks after his minor calf injury to give Fields as many chances as possible with the first-team offense.

For Fields to win the job, he was going to have to dramatically clean up the ball security issues that plagued him in Chicago, or Wilson was going to have to look like Father Time had taken his toll at age 35. 

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson and Justin Fields at training camp on July 28, 2024. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now

Neither of those things happened. Fields was up-and-down in his first two preseason performances, fumbling two snaps and taking some ill-advised sacks. He moved the offense with his legs, but did not dazzle with his arm.

Wilson looks like the same deeply average NFL quarterback that he was with the Denver Broncos last season.

The Steelers probably won’t get great quarterback play out of either of their two passers. Fields has never been great, and Wilson hasn’t been for a while. But as long as Wilson takes care of the ball, gets it out on time, and can move OK in the pocket, expect him to keep starting for the Steelers.

Was it a real competition? Of course. The Steelers tried and tried to give Fields chances to take the job. But it’s a competition where the two competitors didn’t start in the same place. All Wilson had to prove was his health. Fields had to improve, while adapting to a new team and a new offensive scheme.

That doesn’t mean Fields won’t contribute for the Steelers this season. Wilson is, as stated, not young. The offensive line also has not appeared to solve its protection issues from 2023. Wilson being injured seems more than plausible. Even if he’s not, the number of years where Wilson will clearly be a playable option are limited at this point.

The Steelers didn’t invest much in Fields, but he clearly has talent. Give him some time to fully take in Arthur Smith’s system, learn with the pressure off, work in a package of plays, and see where it goes from there. Fields could still be the future, even if he isn’t the present.

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