Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson (3) walks on the sideline during the second half of an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders in Las Vegas, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/John Locher)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Russell Wilson’s time may be fast approaching in Pittsburgh.

Coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that Wilson is “in consideration” to be the starting quarterback when the Steelers (4-2) host the New York Jets (2-4) on Sunday night. The 35-year-old nine-time Pro Bowler has spent the past six weeks recovering from a calf injury he aggravated a couple of days before the season opener.

While Tomlin stressed that Justin Fields “has been really good” while filling in for Wilson and the team has “been really good at times,” the NFL’s longest-tenured coach added that good was “not to be confused with great.”

Enter Wilson, who won the starting job at the end of training camp before tweaking the calf less than 72 hours before a Week 1 visit to Atlanta. Tomlin saw enough of Wilson in practice last week to have him serve as the backup behind Fields during a 32-13 win in Las Vegas, and there’s a very real chance they could swap roles against the Jets.

“This is a competitive league, man,” Tomlin said. “We’re trying to position ourselves to be that team. And we got a player with talent who hadn’t had an opportunity to play. So we’re going to potentially explore those things.”

Fields has been efficient and occasionally spectacular during his six-week audition. He’s also largely avoided the kinds of mistakes that were a common thread during his three years in Chicago, throwing just one interception in 160 attempts. His accuracy, however, had dipped of late. Fields has completed just 57% (29 of 51) of his passes over his past eight quarters, down from 69% (77 of 111) across the opening month of the season.

The Steelers are also 28th in passing and 20th in scoring, riding a soft(ish) early season schedule and a disruptive defense led by All-Pro linebacker T.J. Watt to a tie atop the AFC North with rival Baltimore. After a pair of home primetime games against the New York City area teams — the Jets on Sunday, the Giants on Oct. 28 — the sledding figures to get far heavier once the calendar flips to November and Wilson’s resume may be too tantalizing for Tomlin to pass up.

Tomlin cautioned that the decision to give Wilson reps with the first team in practice this week has more to do with Wilson’s experience and his resume than Fields’ performance.

“Justin has been an asset to us,” Tomlin said.

Just not enough of one for Tomlin to definitively hand the starting job to Fields outright. Tomlin declined to get into specifics on how he will divide the practice snaps with the first team and doesn’t expect to make a decision on who will start against the Jets until later in the week.

“We’re just going to roll the ball out, let both guys work and make decisions from there,” Tomlin said.

Fields’ play has allowed the Steelers to bring Wilson — who turns 36 next month — along slowly. Wilson initially injured the calf when the team reported to training camp in July and there was a concern when he aggravated it that it could lead to something more serious.

Wilson has steadily improved and showed Tomlin last week that he could protect himself in practice. The next step will be knocking off whatever rust might remain from a month-plus of relative inactivity, though Tomlin doesn’t sound overly concerned.

Whoever the quarterback is will likely be playing behind a seventh different offensive line combination in as many weeks with rookie center Zach Frazier out with an ankle injury sustained against the Raiders. Fields’ mobility — he’s already run for five touchdowns — has helped offset the constant churn in front of him. That’s not a tool that Wilson has had since the height of his “Let Russ Cook” days with Seattle several years ago.

Asked how the offense might change with Wilson behind center, Tomlin smiled and said “it remains to be seen. And I think that’s one of the cute things about this discussion.”

NOTES: LB Nick Herbig (hamstring) will miss his second straight game. … There’s a chance OLB Alex Highsmith (groin), out since a win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sept. 22, could return. … RB Cordarrelle Patterson (ankle) may also be available after missing two games.

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.

FILE – In this March 20, 2017, file photo, Heather Lyke makes remarks during a news conference in Pittsburgh, Pa. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The University of Pittsburgh has fired athletic director Heather Lyke, a somewhat surprising move that came a few months before Lyke’s contract was set to expire.

Pitt chancellor Joan Gabel made the announcement Monday.

While Gabel thanked Lyke for her leadership, Gabel also noted that with the landscape of college athletics changing rapidly, she felt it was time for a fresh start.

“We need a new vision and a new leader of our athletics department,” Gabel said in a statement.

Lyke arrived at Pitt in 2017 and helped the Panthers start to find their footing in the Atlantic Coast Conference after treading water in their initial years following their departure from the Big East.

The football program won its first ACC title in 2021 and her decision to hire Jeff Capel as the men’s basketball coach in 2018 helped bring that program back to life. The women’s volleyball team has become a national power and the men’s soccer team reached the College Cup twice, 2020 and 2022.

In a statement posted on social media, Lyke thanked the many she worked with at Pitt.

“Today, I reflected of the wise words from a mentor: ‘If you leave a place better than you found it, you can be proud of your work,’” she said. “I am immensely proud of the accomplishments of the student-athletes, coaches, staff, alumni, donors and community members that I have had the privilege to serve alongside at the University of Pittsburgh.”

Lyke’s most ambitious project was “Victory Heights,” a $240 million facility currently under construction next to the Petersen Events Center. When completed, Victory Heights will serve as the home for 16 of Pitt’s 19 intercollegiate programs and will accommodate seating for up to 3,000 for volleyball, wrestling and gymnastics.

The building, launched in 2020 just before the COVID-19 pandemic, is scheduled to open in the fall of 2025.

Lyke, however, will not be around to see her vision come to fruition. She was in the final months of a contract that ran through 2024 but had explored other options lately, most recently when she was a finalist for the athletic director job at Northwestern.

The Wildcats ended up hiring Villanova athletic director Mark Jackson for the job.

Gabel said the school will launch a “comprehensive search” for Lyke’s replacement. Jennifer Tuscano will serve as interim athletic director until the search is complete.