Steelers insider has interesting Justin Fields, Russell Wilson theory

Pittsburgh Steelers insider Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has an interesting theory on why some analysts continue to say that quarterback Justin Fields could take playing time away from veteran Russell Wilson as soon as September.

"A lot of it has to do with agents and what they feed to the national reporters," Fittipaldo said during a recent appearance on Pittsburgh sports radio station 93.7 The Fan, per Tony Calderone of Steelers Depot. "I think Justin Fields' agent [led] people to believe that Justin is in this [competition] and that he's still a viable quarterback on the open market. Whatever happens this year, whether he's sitting on the bench all season, I think his agent wants to keep his name hot. It's only natural for your rep to do this. Part of this is on the Steelers too, right? Because [Wilson and Fields] are both only signed to one-year contracts."

Individuals close to the Steelers who watched the club throughout springtime workouts have repeatedly insisted Wilson is essentially penciled in as Pittsburgh's Week 1 starter.

Wilson seemingly has won over veteran Steelers players, and DraftKings Sportsbook had the 35-year-old as the betting favorite at -750 odds to open the campaign atop the depth chart over Fields (+450) as of Monday morning.

Nevertheless, certain national reporters sound convinced that Fields could win what may or may not be a legitimate quarterback competition this summer.

Some even think Pittsburgh could be feeling buyer's remorse regarding the signing of Wilson to an inexpensive contract considering the club acquired Fields from the Chicago Bears for a conditional 2025 sixth-round draft pick.

"The intriguing part is people on the national level believe there's actually gonna be a quarterback competition in July and August," Fittipaldo continued, as shared by Steelers Depot's Troy Montgomery. "I think if you listen to most of the beat writers locally, they'll kind of tell you that Russell Wilson has a leg up and it's probably not gonna be all that much of a competition."

Fittipaldo also suggested that outlets such as ESPN and NFL Network could make Pittsburgh's alleged quarterback competition "one of the most talked about storylines" of training camp.

While such stories often generate buzz and sports-talk radio discussions, it seems coming off the July 4 holiday that the job is Wilson's to lose.