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Steelers QB Competition: Surprise Injury Shakes Things Up

The Pittsburgh Steelers got a shake-up in their quarterback room on Day 1 of training camp.

Noah Strackbein

Pittsburgh Steelers | Karl Rose
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PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers opened training at Saint Vincent College with a notable absence. As players took the field for stretches, quarterback Russell Wilson hung back. Dressed in a ball cap and shorts, the 35-year-old didn't participate but was rather an observer during the team's first practice of the summer.

According to head coach Mike Tomlin, Wilson is dealing with calf tightness and the coaches decided to keep him sidelined.

"He wanted to -- and he was probably capable -- but I'm getting to know him, and I just chose to create a little misery for him and the offensive unit," Tomlin said.

So, without their "poll position" starter, Justin Fields was the QB1 for the first day of training camp with Kyle Allen and John Rhys Plumlee behind him.

The day wasn't the smoothest for Fields. Outside of a deep ball to Van Jefferson, where cornerback Donte Jackson fell during the play, there wasn't much spark to the Steelers' passing game. That being said, in a walk-through style practice, there's not much to expect in terms of splash.

"I was definitely trying to take advantage of each and every rep that I got today," Fields said. "Looking forward to getting better tomorrow."

Fields said he learned that he'd be the starting quarterback on Day 1 when he received a text from quarterbacks coach Tom Arth at 6 a.m. A bit of a surprise, the change didn't present any obstacles for the young veteran, who took the opportunity to showcase himself to the fans and coaches in stride.

"He said, 'Be ready to take some reps for the one today,'" Fields said. "But's good to face some short-term memory, some adversity, and some stuff that's not expected because we're going to face things in games that aren't expected. It's about how we react to those situations and how we adjust."

As for the other two, Allen took more reps than Plumlee, but neither had an explosive play to remember.

Wilson is viewed as a day-to-day while he works through the soreness. It's unknown if he'll be back on the field during the team's second practice day, or if Fields will continue to work with the first team throughout the week.

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Noah Strackbein
NOAH STRACKBEIN

Noah is the Publisher for All Steelers, Inside the Panthers (InsideThePanthers.com) and Inside the Penguins (InsidethePenguins.com), and is the host of All Steelers Talk (YouTube.com/AllSteelersTalk). A Scranton native, Noah made his way to the Pittsburgh sports scene in 2017. Now, he's pretty much full-yinzer.

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