Steelers OC Arthur Smith doubles down on who's leading Pittsburgh's battle for starting QB
The rhetoric on the Pittsburgh Steelers QB situation is a mixed bag. The national media is taking what they have heard at face value and pointing to a true QB battle for the starting role. Those on the ground have seen that Russell Wilson is clearly in command and the leader, citing nothing short of […]
The rhetoric on the Pittsburgh Steelers QB situation is a mixed bag.
The national media is taking what they have heard at face value and pointing to a true QB battle for the starting role.
Those on the ground have seen that Russell Wilson is clearly in command and the leader, citing nothing short of a miracle for Justin Fields to start Week 1.
But when asked about the situation for the first time, new OC Arthur Smith made it very clear that a real competition is about to take place, though one man stands above the rest:
Arthur Smith Looks Forward to Training Camp QB Competition
"Mike's [Tomlin] stated on the record, you know, Russ [Wilson] is in the pole position, Steelers OC Arthur Smith told reporters on Tuesday. "It's a competition and obviously, when we get to Latrobe, I mean, certainly I'm sure things will heat up. But both those guys knew that when however they were acquired and they got here. I think it's been pretty transparent. I know Mike said that on the record as well."
Now, Coach Tomlin has said all along that Fields will have "ample" opportunities to compete for the starting role, but to this point that has ceased to be the case. Russell Wilson has dominated the majority of first-team reps throughout OTAs, and that is unlikely to change at minicamp this week.
So to think that when the season unofficially begins for all 32 teams in late July with the arrival of training camp, Fields and Wilson will suddenly have equal first-team rep distribution is a tad rich for me, and many others on the Steelers beat:
"Zero. I just don't think there's enough time for that," The Athletic's Mark Kaboly recently told 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh when asked about the chances Justin Fields starts Week 1. "It's more than just being a quarterback. It's being a leader, taking those guys to dinner. It's being that type of leader that they haven't had in a number of years now. So I don't worry about Justin Fields right now. I think you worry about him next year."
Crazier things have happened, but it seems clear that Wilson will be given every opportunity to start the season. Now, the leash is likely short and Fields could be inserted quicker than many may realize, but for now, I'll believe a true battle when I see it.
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Hard to argue with that.
