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Is ESPN's Dan Orlovsky Right About Steelers QB Starter?
By Wil Riggs,
4 hours ago
The Pittsburgh Steelers have a decision to make. ... and at this moment they are having to do it without the benefit of clarity.
Who is going to be their starting quarterback in the regular season?
They signed quarterback Russell Wilson to a veteran minimum deal to be their starter. But a calf injury at the onset of training camp allowed former No. 11 overall pick Justin Fields to build a bond with his teammates as he got all of the first-team reps.
ESPN’s NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky has seen enough and made his starting quarterback declaration on Monday’s morning’s edition of “Get Up”.
Aug 9, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields (2) warms up before playing the Houston Texans at Acrisure Stadium.
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
“Justin Fields should start for the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Orlovsky said. “Two preseason games in, and two weeks until the season, I think it’s obvious that Justin brings more good than bad in comparison to Russell Wilson.”
Fields is completing nearly 70 percent of his passes in the preseason through two games. While Wilson connected on 8-of-10 passes on Saturday night, he was also sacked three times.
“The sacks, I would disagree are all on the offensive line,” Orlovsky points out. “Here’s my pushback; Mike Tomlin says ‘that’s not how we operate,’ I think that’s the biggest issue right now. The Russ that we saw, isn’t operating this offense.
“They certainly aren’t contenders with the Russ we saw this past weekend.”
With injuries up front, and questions about the offensive line as a whole, maybe starting the more athletic Fields makes more sense than starting Wilson.
Fields has proven himself to be a dynamic runner with the ball in his hands and can avoid sacks and pick up positive yards in situations that Wilson may not be able to anymore.
With one final preseason game on the road at Detroit, Tomlin may elect to start Wilson again to see if he can take control of the offense. If he struggles again, Fields could be the starter headed into their regular-season opener on the road against the Atlanta Falcons.
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