Steelers’ Justin Fields opens OTAs by announcing he’s here to take Russell Wilson’s starting job
Justin Fields may be QB #2 on the Pittsburgh Steelers' current depth chart, but he doesn't plan on staying there long. No matter how much Pittsburgh says that Russell Wilson is in "pole position," this is a true competition that won't conclude until the season starts. That's exactly what Justin Fields wants, only he expects […]
Justin Fields may be QB #2 on the Pittsburgh Steelers' current depth chart, but he doesn't plan on staying there long.
No matter how much Pittsburgh says that Russell Wilson is in "pole position," this is a true competition that won't conclude until the season starts.
That's exactly what Justin Fields wants, only he expects to come out on top:
Fields Doesn't Plan on Holding a Clipboard
"To be honest, l'm taking it day by day. I'm definitely competing. I think Russ knows that we're competing against each other every day," Fields told reporters on Tuesday after the team's first OTA session. "Him being out there, for me, that helps me getting better, us pushing each other. I mean, I definitely don't have the mindset of me just sitting all year, so I'm coming in everyday giving it all I got."
Here's the thing about football. Everything is just words until players get on the field. No team thinks or plans for an undrafted free agent to be better than their third round pick in the same position group in the days after the draft.
But as former scouts and personnel members will tell you, all of your plans and assumptions go out of the window when the cleats hit the grass. You find out real quick who can play and who can't.
So Pittsburgh can push the propaganda that Russ will start, but as the offseason goes in, even he knows this is a 50-50 battle:
"I think every day you look to be the best version of you. I think that's always the competition internally, and then you're always competing against the other, 31 other teams, and so I think that you step on the field with that mentality," Wilson told reporters on Tuesday. "Nothing should ever change. So, that's how I've always looked at it. And that's the part I embrace."
Now that's not to say that Wilson won't be named the starter in Week 1, and likely the captain of the team. Anyone who knows Pittsburgh football understands that they give the upper hand to veterans, with Wilson holding almost a decade more experience than Fields.
But whether it be Week 1, Week 6, or Week 10, I expect Fields will be seen in the starting lineup, and I would bet it happens sooner than later.
