Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields warms up before an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday in Pittsburgh, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Mike Tomlin is in no hurry to announce Justin Fields as the starting quarterback in Pittsburgh.
While Fields will again get the nod on Sunday in place of the injured Russell Wilson when the Steelers (3-0) visit Indianapolis (1-2), Tomlin stopped short of giving the job to Fields on a full-time basis, mostly because there’s no need at this point while Wilson rehabs from a calf issue he aggravated a few days before the season opener earlier this month.
“When Russ gets to an appropriate point of health and we have a decision to make, I’ll make it and I’ll announce it and I’ll be really transparent about it,” Tomlin said Tuesday.
Wilson will be limited again in practice on Wednesday, as the 35-year-old has been each of the previous two weeks. Tomlin didn’t rule out Wilson’s potential availability later in the week but added it will take more than just Wilson being cleared by the medical staff for him to be in consideration for a return to play.
Asked when he thinks Wilson might meet those benchmarks, Tomlin shrugged.
“We’ll know when we get there,” he said. “He’ll not only be healthy in terms of keeping himself safe, but he’ll be healthy in terms of being able to be productive and do the things that he needs to do and we need him to do.”
Wilson, signed to a one-year deal in March after being cut by Denver, beat out Fields during a training camp competition that felt “open” in name only. The nine-time Pro Bowler, however, aggravated a calf injury just days before the opener in Atlanta.
Fields stepped in and has steadily improved with each passing week. He completed 25 of 32 for 245 yards with a touchdown and an interception — his first of the year — in a 20-10 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday that pushed the Steelers to 3-0 for the first time since 2020.
“He’s steady, he’s a competitor, man, he likes to compete,” Tomlin said of Fields. “He doesn’t turn down things. He’s aggressive in play, scrambling and so forth. It’s just been fun to get to know him and not only know him as a guy but know him as a competitor.”
Fields is completing 73% of his passes, well above his career average of 60%. He’s also thrown just one pick in 75 attempts, an ill-advised third-quarter throw against the Chargers that was batted into the air and pulled in by Los Angeles linebacker Bud Dupree. While Fields stressed he needs to be better going forward, it’s also his only turnover in three games. He gave it away 41 times in 40 games during three seasons in Chicago.
After sticking mostly to passes on the outside in wins over the Falcons and Denver, Fields was more aggressive over the middle against Los Angeles. He connected on several important throws between the hash marks, none bigger than a dart to Calvin Austin III in the third quarter that Austin turned into a 55-yard touchdown.
Tomlin praised Fields’ accuracy, something he first saw up close while attending Fields’ Pro Day at Ohio State in 2021.
What Tomlin would like to see going forward from Fields is a better start. The Steelers went three-and-out on three of their first four possessions against Los Angeles, with only a methodical 13-play, 70-yard touchdown drive in between.
“We got to get that solved and get it solved quickly,” Tomlin said, later adding, “Three-and-outs and things of that nature just doesn’t tee us up to play the type of ball that we desire to play.”
It’s a type of ball — a physical defense and an offense that is careful but also dynamic — that has made the Steelers the early front-runners in the AFC North. Fields has been an increasingly significant factor in Pittsburgh’s hot start. The season, as Tomlin put it Tuesday, is a “moving train.”
Asked if it’s possible for the train to start moving too fast for someone with even Wilson’s decorated resume to hop on and play immediately, Tomlin demurred.
“I don’t know, man,” he said. “We’ll know when we get there.”
NOTES: OLB Alex Highsmith (groin) is likely out against the Colts. Nick Herbig, who had two sacks last week against Los Angeles, will fill in. … G Isaac Seumalo (pectoral) could ramp up his participation this week. The veteran has been out since late August. … RB Jaylen Warren’s status is up in the air after Tomlin pulled him from the Chargers’ game after noticing Warren was limping.
