Former Ohio State star QB Justin Fields won't start for Pittsburgh but Mike Tomlin has plan to 'weaponize' his mobility

Coach Mike Tomlin announced on Wednesday that Russell Wilson will be the starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers in their season-opening game in Atlanta. Backing up Wilson will be Justin Fields, acquired by the Steelers in a March trade with the Chicago Bears in exchange for a conditional sixth-round pick. The former Ohio State Buckeyes star hoped to take advantage of his fresh start.

Tomlin mentioned that there was a competition for the starting quarterback position between Wilson and Fields during the preseason. However, Wilson seemed to maintain an advantage, highlighted by his performance in the final preseason game where he only took five snaps but led the first-team offense on a scoring drive before being removed.

The good news for Fields is there's an opening for a role, still. Tomlin described a plan for Fields that is "certainly on the table." The coaching staff is "open to weaponizing" Fields' athleticism and mobility behind Wilson.

While this is a disappointing outcome for Fields, it's not surprising. There's no way Pittsburgh landed Wilson without promising him the starting job, and Fields would've needed a perfect training camp to win. That simply wouldn't have happened, given that Fields is 25 and still learning how to play quarterback.

Fields' time is coming, if you ask me. Wilson has been awful the last two seasons, so Pittsburgh may need to turn to the more explosive and riskier option in Fields. But Fields is a gamer who has never played with a good surrounding cast in the NFL, so there's still hope left he can develop into a more reliable starter.

Wilson, who joined the Steelers on a one-year contract in March, was the frontrunner for the starting position entering the offseason, as stated by Tomlin. Wilson managed to secure the starting role despite a calf injury that kept him out of most of the Steelers' training camp.

During the preseason, Fields took 56 snaps compared to Wilson’s 25, completing 19 of his 27 attempts for 199 yards and also leading a scoring drive. Conversely, Wilson completed 10 out of 12 attempts for 73 yards, also leading a scoring drive. Fields had an average of 8.3 air yards per attempt, while Wilson averaged 5.7.