Mike Tomlin Not Ready to Make Decision Between Russell Wilson and Justin Fields

The preseason is over for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and yet Mike Tomlin has yet to name a starting quarterback.

The longtime Steelers head coach is leading a high-profile quarterback competition between offseason signing Russell Wilson and trade acquisition Justin Fields, both at the top of the polarizing list of names at the position, and neither has been named a starter as of this writing.

The Steelers finished the preseason 0-3, losing their final preseason game to the Detroit Lions on Saturday.

“We’ll make a decision at the end of our work week,” Tomlin said, according to ESPN. “This coming week, we have three days of work Steelers versus Steelers and why not do it then?”

“It minimizes the work between the Steelers when we start making decisions before the end of this week. We have plenty of time to get ready for Atlanta and make any decisions or announcements regarding division work or pecking orders, etc. So we’ll do that at the end of the work week.”

During the game, Wilson led a touchdown drive and was immediately replaced by Fields.

“We didn’t get the job done, but we accomplished a lot of things that we wanted to accomplish,” Tomlin said after the loss. “We wanted our starters to be healthy and in rhythm, which mirrors some of the things we’ve seen in practice. And so we were able to do that. And once we felt comfortable with some of those things, we moved on to give them a lot of opportunities and try to find one of the last spots on the bus. But obviously, we didn’t make enough plays to secure the win.”

Wilson finished the preseason with 73 passing yards and completed 10 of 12 attempts.

The younger Fields got more reps in relief, completing 19 of 27 passes for 199 yards, and he also rushed for 48 yards on 13 carries.

“They both moved the ball,” Tomlin said. “They won possessions and we put them all in the end zone, things we haven’t done enough of so far in the preseason.”

Wilson signed a one-year contract with Pittsburgh last March after being released by the Denver Broncos, with whom he spent his last two seasons after being traded by the Seattle Seahawks.

The Broncos continue to pay Wilson, who will count for $53 million in dead cap money for the 2024 season.

Less than a week after adding Wilson, the Steelers added Justin Fields in exchange for a conditional sixth-round draft pick from the Chicago Bears.

The Steelers begin their 2024 regular season on September 8 against the Falcons in Atlanta.