Much has been made of Justin Fields possibly pushing Russell Wilson for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starting quarterback job, but based on one reporter’s impressions, that will not be happening anytime soon.
In an appearance on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Ray Fittipaldo said he had observed many of the pre-existing criticisms of Fields during offseason camp, and that he sees the Steelers as Wilson’s team.
“Fields, from what I’ve seen, they had a month of spring practices and he’s a terrific athlete, but really the knocks against him that I heard coming in actually turned out to be true,” Fittipaldo said, via Jacob Punturi of FanNation. “He’s not terribly accurate with the ball. His placement isn’t all the great, and I could see them maybe having a package or two for him each week depending on the opponent, but I see this team as Russell Wilson’s team.”
Fields’ athleticism will always draw people in, but he has been inconsistent as a passer and that does not seem to be changing. As Fittipaldo notes, there may be some specific situations where the Steelers turn to him, but based on this, he is not close to supplanting Wilson as the starter.
It remains possible that Fields suddenly looks great in preseason, or Wilson looks awful. One of those scenarios might be enough to allow Fields to achieve his stated aim for the season. For now, though, things do not appear to be trending that way.
