Pittsburgh Steelers prove that the QB battle may already be over following latest announcement

With the Pittsburgh Steelers slated to play their first preseason game of the year on Friday, the team decided Tuesday night was the time to release their 2024 initial depth chart.

Sure it wasn't the news that all Steelers fans are waiting on , but it still raised some eyebrows nonetheless.

Why? Because despite having yet to participate in full capacity all training camp, QB Russell Wilson is your starter and a rookie managed to crack the first team lineup:

Steelers Release Initial Depth Chart

QB Situation

The Steelers and Mike Tomlin stayed true to their word here, with Russell Wilson transforming his pole position and turning it into a starting role. It's still early as the season kicks off in a little over a month when the team travels to Atlanta, but if Justin Fields hasn't surpassed Wilson through 11 practices, he might not be able to.

The thing is, it wouldn't be due to any fault of his own. After a shaky Week 1, Fields was the star of Week 2 and even kicked off Week 3 on Tuesday looking sharp.

So how things develop over the next month will be intriguing, and that could start on Friday when Pittsburgh welcomes Houston to town.

Rookie Moves

Beanie Bishop Turns Heads

The Steelers broke tradition on Tuesday, naming a rookie to the starting lineup upon the initial release of their depth chart. For reference, it took six weeks into the regular season for Pittsburgh to start Joey Porter Jr. last year, and half the season before Broderick Jones was starting.

So to see not only a rookie, but a UDFA start out of the gate speaks to how impressive nickel corner Beanie Bishop has been in camp. A local product hailing from West Virginia University, you can't tell that he's undersized by the way he's played.

Consistently around the ball, Bishop has made a habit of breaking up passes or picking them off , even shutting down George Pickens in 1v1's a few times despite an obvious size disadvantage. If Bishop keeps it up, the Steelers may not even need Cam Sutton when he returns from suspension in Week 10 .

O-Line Remains Stock

Despite positive returns on Troy Fautanu, Zach Frazier and even Mason McCormick, the first-team offensive line still features Dan Moore at LT, Nate Herbig at center, and Broderick Jones at RT.

To be fair to Herbig, he has been stellar and it may be a while before Frazier stakes a claim for staring center. The same cannot be said for Dan Moore Jr. however, who is playing where Broderick Jones is supposed to be, while Fautanu tries to get in where he fits in at RT.

But, we know this is par for the course when it comes to Pittsburgh and its roster decisions. With five camp practices left and three preseason games on deck, the final depth chart should look different from the first.

Related: Steelers Training Camp Takeaways: Russell Wilson takes massive step forward, surprise CB emerges on day 11