Steelers Finally Have a QB Competition
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback competition is finally here, and it's actually worth monitoring. "Pole position" might give Russell Wilson the first rep during team drills, but head coach Mike Tomlin convinced us all that this race is neck-and-neck and that maybe Justin Fields did gain some ground during Wilson's absence.
For the first time during training camp, Wilson returned to practice as nearly a full participant. He took team drills for the first time since his calf injury, and added himself to seven shots on the goal line. However, instead of taking all of the first team reps, he and Fields alternated, with a near even split throughout the day.
Now, Wilson was completely back. Fields still had more passes then him during team drills, but only by three. Wilson ended up 3/4 while Fields went 7/7.
During seven shots, Wilson started with a perfect lob pass to the corner of the endzone for George Pickens. Fields didn't impress during the drill, having one batted at the line of scrimmage and intercepted by DeShon Elliott and being stuffed at the goal line during a read option.
Fields went 4/4 during 7-on-7 drills while Wilson went 5/6.
The Steelers have made it known that Wilson is going to get the better chance to start. With it being just day one of him back on the field, the workload was probably smaller than it will typically be. But with two weeks left of training camp, the team appears to finally be ready for their highly-anticipated quarterback battle.
For now, it's a wait-and-see situation. Fans can pick favorites, and the Steelers will almost certainly pick theirs. And as we approach the back half of the summer here at Saint Vincent College, there's finally something tangible with who will take the field as QB1 in Atlanta.