Steelers' Justin Fields closing gap in competition with Russell Wilson

It's now become clear that the minor calf injury that has slowed veteran Russell Wilson during training camp has opened the door for Justin Fields to possibly win the Pittsburgh Steelers' starting job before August comes to an end.

Steelers reporter Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette expanded on that topic during the latest edition of "The North Shore Drive Sports Podcast."

"I think these reps have been invaluable to Justin Fields," Fittipaldo explained, via Jeremy Pike of Steelers Depot. "Because had Russell Wilson not been injured, his reps would have been pretty much cut in half."

Fittipaldo also noted that Fields has "steadily improved" practicing with the first-team offense from where he was at the conclusion of spring workouts.

Wilson began training camp penciled in atop Pittsburgh's depth chart but hasn't been promised anything by Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin regarding Week 1. Neither Wilson nor Fields is signed beyond the upcoming campaign, and Wilson's team-friendly deal means Pittsburgh has no real commitment to him for even this coming fall.

"I wouldn’t count Justin Fields out of becoming the starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers quite yet," NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated said on Monday. "Fields has played well, and new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has a really long history of coaching effectively around the blind spots of physically gifted quarterbacks. So the longer Russell Wilson’s injury woes linger, the wider the door opens for Fields, who’s a strong program-personality fit for the Steelers, to eventually become the guy."

As of Tuesday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook continued to list Wilson as the betting favorite at -450 odds to start over Fields (+300) for Pittsburgh's regular-season opener at the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 8. With that said, ESPN's Brooke Pryor mentioned that Pittsburgh's quarterback situation "might be more of a competition than it initially appeared" assuming Fields "can make routine -- and splash -- plays consistently" starting with the club's preseason game versus the Houston Texans this coming Friday.

"He's done a nice job picking up Arthur Smith's system," Fittipaldo added about Fields. "And I think Arthur Smith and his coaches have done a nice job molding him into the quarterback they want him to be."

In short, Friday's exhibition matchup between Houston and Pittsburgh  is all of the sudden a lot more interesting than it was just two weeks ago.