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Mike Tomlin is in no hurry to announce Justin Fields as the starting quarterback in Pittsburgh.
While Fields will again get the nod on Sunday in place of the injured Russell Wilson when the Steelers (3-0) visit Indianapolis (1-2), Tomlin stopped short of giving the job to Fields on a full-time basis, mostly because there’s no need at this point while Wilson rehabs from a calf issue he aggravated a few days before the season opener earlier this month.
“When Russ gets to an appropriate point of health and we have a decision to make, I’ll make it and I’ll announce it and I’ll be really transparent about it,” Tomlin said Tuesday.
Wilson will be limited again in practice on Wednesday, as the 35-year-old has been each of the previous two weeks. Tomlin didn’t rule out Wilson’s potential availability later in the week but added it will take more than just Wilson being cleared by the medical staff for him to be in consideration for a return to play.
Asked when he thinks Wilson might meet those benchmarks, Tomlin shrugged.
“We’ll know when we get there,” he said. “He’ll not only be healthy in terms of keeping himself safe, but he’ll be healthy in terms of being able to be productive and do the things that he needs to do and we need him to do.”
Wilson, signed to a one-year deal in March after being cut by Denver, beat out Fields during a training camp competition that felt “open” in name only. The nine-time Pro Bowler, however, aggravated a calf injury just days before the opener in Atlanta.
Fields stepped in and has steadily improved with each passing week. He completed 25 of 32 for 245 yards with a touchdown and an interception — his first of the year — in a 20-10 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday that pushed the Steelers to 3-0 for the first time since 2020.
“He’s steady, he’s a competitor, man, he likes to compete,” Tomlin said of Fields. “He doesn’t turn down things. He’s aggressive in play, scrambling and so forth. It’s just been fun to get to know him…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/steelers-coach-mike-tomlin-no-need-to-name-justin-fields-starting-qb
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Publish date : 2024-09-24 19:45:15
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