With Russell Wilson now having a week of full participation in practice under his belt, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that Wilson is now in consideration to be the team's starting quarterback when the Jets come to Acrisure Stadium Sunday night.
Tomlin said that he hasn't yet made a decision regarding who will be the starter for the Steelers (4-2) when they host the Jets (2-4), but that Wilson knocked some of the rust off during a full week of practice as a full participant, acknowledging that the 13-year veteran doesn't need as much time as a younger player to do so.
"We were scheduled for Russ to work in totality, he did that over the course of the week, I got comfortable with his ability to display his health," Tomlin said. "Now it's about knocking the rust off. He did some of that last week. He is in consideration this week, we'll see where that leads us."
Wilson returned to practice on a full-time basis last Wednesday for the first time since aggravating a calf injury that sidelined him for two weeks in training camp just three days before he was slated to start the Steelers' regular season opener in Atlanta.
Fields has started the Steelers' first six games, completing just over 66 percent of his passes for 1,106 yards with five touchdown passes and one interception, posting a passer rating of 93.9. He's also rushed 231 yards and five scores.
In a 32-13 win last Sunday against the Raiders, Fields completed 14 of 24 passes for 145 yards and also added 59 rushing yards on 11 attempts while scoring a pair of touchdowns.
"Justin has been really good, and we've been really good at times, but not to be confused with great," Tomlin said. "This is a competitive league. We're trying to position ourselves to be that team, and we got to play with talent with which we haven't had an opportunity to play. So we're going to potentially explore those things.
"Sometimes it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with what Justin has done or has not done. Justin has been an asset to us. Last week, for example, his ability to utilize his legs, by design and by ad lib, was a significant component of that game. He rushed for 50-plus yards and two touchdowns in game, and so we're appreciative of that. We're appreciative of how he's taking care of the ball, but we're just looking at all the people at our disposal the same way that we do at any position."
Tomlin acknowledged that Wilson doesn't have that same ability to ad-lib like Fields, who rushed for more than 1,100 yards in 2022 with the Bears. But Wilson also isn't a statue in the pocket. In 15 games in Denver last season, he rushed for 341 yards and three touchdowns and has 5,307 rushing yards in his career.
"Justin's legs are an X-factor," said Tomlin, noting that both quarterbacks could be used on Sunday.
Both Wilson and Fields were acquired in the offseason in what was a complete makeover of the Steelers' quarterback position.
Wilson, a nine-time Pro Bowl performer who has led his teams to a pair of Super Bowls, winning once, was signed in free agency after being released by the Broncos in a cost-cutting move.
Fields was acquired a week later via trade with the Chicago Bears.
One of the reasons the Steelers chose to acquire Wilson was to add a veteran element to an offense that has been one of the youngest in the NFL since the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger following the 2021 season.
Wilson was voted offensive captain by his teammates and, at 35, has started 188 career games.
That track record is why Tomlin doesn't necessarily feel Wilson needs a lot of time to work his way back onto the field.
"There's also a totality of his resume as well that makes you more comfortable than guys with shorter resumes in that regard, in terms of the ability to play ball on a limited amount of exposure," Tomlin said. "I have that mentality about guys across positions, and we've had that discussion before - with veteran players that comfort that comes with experience in some of those really sometimes uncomfortable discussions."
Injury update: Tomlin said that both linebacker Nick Herbig (hamstring) and center Zach Frazier (ankle) are out for Sunday's game against the Jets.
It will be the second-consecutive game missed for Herbig, while Frazier's injury took place in the second half of the win over the Raiders.
Tomlin said the injury to Frazier, however, does not appear to be a long-term issue, saying he's "week-to-week."
In the meantime, who has made one career start, that coming with Detroit in 2021, will get the first opportunity to replace him at center. McCollum replaced Frazier after his injury on Sunday.
The Steelers will be utilizing their fifth starting offensive line combination in seven games. But Tomlin has confidence in McCollum, who has been with the team since 2022.
"I've seen a high intensity guy who's a heck of a communicator, who's mature beyond his years, and I think that's why we're all comfortable continuing to operate the way that we operated a week ago, and I think that's why we're excited about the opportunity that it is for him," Tomlin said. "There's always two sides to the injury coin, and I just always try to make a point to our team regarding it. We can waste a lot of time talking about the people that aren't at our disposal, the people whose services we don't have. It is doing a different disservice to the capable men who are getting elevated, who are getting an opportunity to show that they're capable, to put their hand in the pile and contribute."
While those two players are out, Tomlin is optimistic the Steelers will have outside linebacker Alex Highsmith, running back/kick returner Cordarrelle Patterson, safety Damontae Kazee and tight end MyCole Pruitt back this week.
Highsmith, the starter opposite T.J. Watt, has missed the past three games with a groin injury.
"We're going to watch their participation during the course of the week, and let their participation be our guide in terms of their potential availability," Tomlin said.
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Kudos to kick blocks: The Steelers blocked a kick for the second consecutive week against the Raiders, as linebacker Jeremiah Moon got his hands on a punt one week after Isaiahh Loudermilk blocked a field goal attempt against the Cowboys.
The Steelers have been very good at blocking kicks over the past few seasons, and Tomlin acknowledged a lot of work goes into those plays.
"I thought the punt block to start the second half by Moon really was significant," Tomlin said. "You know that we value the block game here culturally, to have another guy that has that on his resume, I don't think people understand how difficult it is to block kicks. You can have people that are unblocked and can't land the plane at the block point.
"And so to have another guy within our group that's displayed that ability to have that in his hip pocket, I just think it strengthens us as a block collector. We've got some guys with some resumes in that regard, whether it's (Miles) Killebrew, who is the NFL standard for that, or Connor (Heyward), who displayed that a year ago. Tyler (Matakevich) has done it in the past for us, and now adding a guy like Moon, who has that block ability. We blocked a field goal a couple of weeks ago with Loudermilk. We just really value that component of play and what it can do for a football game and how it energizes a group. It affects the outcome of a game directly."
Preparing for Adams, again: A week ago, the Steelers were prepared to face wide receiver Davante Adams with the Raiders, though Adams missed last Sunday's game with a hamstring injury.
Tuesday, he was traded to the Jets, where he'll be reunited with quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers and Adams played together in Green Bay for eight seasons, with Adams catching 669 passes for 8,821 and 73 touchdowns.
"I was getting ready for Davonte last week. I'm getting ready for Devonte this week, but that's life in the National Football League," Tomlin said. "I'd imagine his acquisition is going to create some news, not only today, but just as it pertains to this game, and I'm respectful of his talents, but I don't imagine that his acquisition changes our approach to this game a whole lot. To be quite honest with you, we're playing an Aaron Rodgers-led group on offense, and that means certain things. When you've got a quarterback who's had the resume that he has and has had the type of success that he's had, it's a challenge."
