Steelers again preparing Justin Fields to start at QB with Russell Wilson (calf) limited Sep 17, 2024

The Pittsburgh Steelers are in the same position as last week, preparing for quarterback Justin Fields to make another start.

Head coach Mike Tomlin said on Tuesday the plan at this stage is to once again get Fields ready to start Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers as Russell Wilson continues to deal with a calf injury.

“Really, we’re kind of in the same posture as we were in last week with Russ,” Tomlin told reporters. “As I sit here today, Russ is not scheduled to be a full participant in practice, and so we’re readying a plan that features Justin and his readiness.”

It’s the same story as last week — almost verbatim — as Tomlin reiterated he’s not living in “hypotheticals” when it comes to Wilson questions.

“We’ll follow Russ throughout the week, and if his participation gets to a level in participation and quality where he should consider him, we’ll delve into that at that time,” he said. “Obviously, when that happens is a component of the consideration. But as I sit here today, he is not scheduled to be a full participant tomorrow in practice, and so we’re readying ourselves around Justin, and we’ll stay in that mindset until something else happens. Hypotheticals is a waste of our time.”

The Steeles are 2-0 with Fields in the catbird seat, the first time Pittsburgh has started 2-0 since 2020. The offense has put up just 31 total points in the two wins, with Fields not surpassing the 160 passing yards mark in either outing, but his play has been better than the stat sheet. The QB hasn’t made the massive mistake, avoiding throwing an interception on 43 pass attempts.

The Steelers offense has also been waylaid by offensive line issues and penalties. Sunday against Denver, Fields’ stat line would have looked much better without a touchdown and a 51-yard deep pass on a ridiculously good throw getting wiped out by penalties.

Former first-rounder Broderick Jones, who didn’t start, was the culprit on the flag that wiped out the 51-yard throw — the offensive tackle’s third penalty of the series. He didn’t enter the game again on offense after the flag barrage.

“I’m going to give Broderick an opportunity to rebound,” Tomlin said. “He’s a talented young player. I’m sure he’s suffered some disappointment in terms of Troy (Fautanu) starting, but he’s got to move past it. I’ve got to give him an opportunity to move past it as a leader. We’ll get into this week. We’ll let participation be our guide and the quality of participation for both guys be our guide in terms of how we divvy up reps this week. It’s a new week.”

A new week, with the same starting quarterback still under center.