LATROBE, Pa. — One of Mike Tomlin’s favorite quotes has come to fruition during the Pittsburgh Steelers’ training camp.
Tomlin often says, “One man’s misfortunate is another man’s opportunity.” That was the case last week for quarterback Justin Fields, who received four straight days of first-team offense with Russell Wilson sidelined with a calf injury. Wilson is expected to make his training camp debut on Tuesday, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin confirmed following Sunday’s practice.
With Wilson watching, Fields lived up to his reputation as a talented player who is still working on his consistency. The former first-round pick made several impressive plays, but he also made some throws he surely would like to have back, including Sunday’s interception thrown to new Steelers cornerback Donte Jackson.
An example of the former occurred earlier in camp during Seven Shots, a deep red zone pitting the offense against the defense. On the play, Fields rolled to his left and appeared to initially lock in on Jaylen Warren, who was tightly covered on the outside. But instead of forcing something to Warren, Fields checked down, surveyed the field (while also evading pressure) and lobbed a pass in traffic for wideout Calvin Austin III, who corralled the ball in the end zone.
Another notable moment during Fields’ first week took place midway through Friday’s practice, when he missed an open George Pickens down the middle and instead threw a deep out pass to Austin that was overthrown and incomplete. But while that play may symbolize Fields’ main weakness, what followed might be an example of one of his strengths.
Late in practice, Fields went back to Austin on a similar play, but this time, the receiver and quarterback connected for a big gain. Fields then hit Pickens deep for a score before teaming up with tight end Pat Freiermuth for another big gain. Each completion was made despite several defensive backs patrolling the area.
Fields made a similar completion to rookie Roman Wilson during Saturday’s practice.
In some ways, the first week of Steelers camp played out in a favorable way for the black and gold. While Wilson’s calf situation isn’t ideal, it gave Fields a chance to refine his craft while the Steelers continue to try to build a long-term plan for the quarterback position. As he’s shown so far at camp, Fields is a talented player with the potential, but he is still devoid of the consistency needed to be a franchise quarterback capable of taking a team places.
Fields may get there one day, but for now, that role is being filled by Wilson, a former Super Bowl champion whose leadership style and overall presence has been embraced by his new teammates.
“Obviously, somebody my age, you’ve seen him in the Super Bowl and has been the quarterback for some legendary teams,” Austin told CBS Sports following Thursday’s practice when asked about Wilson. “It’s almost surreal at first. … Russ doesn’t wanna do anything but to help the team and for our personal growth, too. He’s been to the top, won a Super Bowl. He’s pushing you to be a better person and player.”
