Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin is speaking for the first time since the team acquired quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields and traded Kenny Pickett.
Tomlin spoke on Sunday during the owner’s meetings in Orlando, Florida.
If you ask Tomlin, he doesn’t think getting Wilson and Fields was a big a headline as it made out to be.
“I don’t know that dramatic things happened, from a perception standpoint,” said Tomlin. “We had one quarterback on our roster, last time we talked, we knew we had to acquire some talent at the position.”
Tomlins says “at least to start” it will be Wilson who is QB 1.
“Russell is a veteran man, he’s got a proven process of readiness,” said Tomlin. “He’s been in this league a long time, he’s capable of rallying troopers, receivers, tight ends, running backs, etc.”
Tomlin adds he believes Fields can learn from Wilson, but that doesn’t mean it will be Wilson starting week one.
“Rest assured when it’s time to compete, Justin will be given an opportunity to compete and we’ll allow those guys to sort themselves out but I thought it was appropriate to describe it in the way that I described it in terms of how we get started,” said Tomlin. “Russell’s in pole position, I think his body of work justifies that.”
Tomlin said that Fields is “excited” to work with Wilson.
So, it’s Wilson’s job to lose. The question is, how bad does he need to be to lose his job? Or, how good does Fields need to be to pass Wilson?
