PITTSBURGH — Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson will ramp up his workload this week and is scheduled to be a full participant Wednesday, the first time he’s practiced without restrictions since aggravating his calf injury on Sept. 5. However, Justin Fields is still scheduled to start when the Steelers travel to meet the Las Vegas Raiders this weekend.
“We’ll see where that leads us,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “First, we’ll see if he’s able to pull it off and get through the sessions. If he does, what does the quality of that work look like? His ability to protect himself, etc.”
Wilson suited up as the emergency third quarterback for the first five weeks. Through four weeks, he was limited to 7-on-7 drills at practice so that he wouldn’t have to evade a live rush or worry about defenders falling at his feet.
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Last week, Wilson took a small step toward a return when he began taking some 11-on-11 reps during team periods. This week, he’s scheduled to take another step forward. He’ll work with the second-team offense in practice, in Tomlin’s words, “as to not interfere with Justin’s preparation.”
Tomlin was asked if these second-team reps could set up Wilson to be active as at least a backup to Fields on Sunday.
“The fact that he is a full participant is a door that’s ajar,” Tomlin said. “But to say any more than that is to speculate, because he’s got to get through the day. He’s got to show up on Thursday and see where the roads lead us in terms of that.
“The limited participation guys, we let the amount of participation and the quality of that participation be our guide in terms of whether or not we include them and how much we include them as we push forward toward game time. And it remains the same at that position.”
Wilson initially injured his calf on July 24 while pushing a sled during the team conditioning test. He missed the Steelers’ first preseason game 16 days later. He made his preseason debut three-and-a-half weeks after the initial injury, but admitted he was less than 100 percent. Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith also said after that preseason game that the Steelers took plays out of the playbook, like the read-option and bootlegs, because of Wilson’s health.
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Tomlin said that he’ll be looking for Wilson to prove that he can participate without the Steelers being forced to change things schematically. It’s worth noting that twice over the last five seasons Wilson led the league in getting sacked, even when healthy. They’ll need him to prove his can evade a rush before even considering him as an option.
In Wilson’s absence, Fields has mostly taken advantage of the opportunity, playing some of the best football of his career. His completion percentage (67.6) and passer rating (97.1) are both career highs, well above any season he had with the Chicago Bears.
Initially, Smith didn’t put too much on Fields’ plate, relying on a run-heavy attack full of short, quick passes and the occasional well-timed deep shot downfield. Fields’ steady performance in that offense helped the Steelers jump out to an early 3-0 record.
Given his performance and the overall result on the scoreboard, there was no reason to consider a change at that point, even if Wilson may or may not have been healthy enough to be in the conversation. However, the last two games have at least opened the door.
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In Week 4 against the Indianapolis Colts, Fields played a bit of a Jekyll-and-Hyde game. While he sparked a comeback effort — throwing for a season-best 312 yards and one touchdown to go along with 55 rushing yards and a pair of rushing touchdowns — he was inconsistent early and botched a snap late during the potential game-winning drive. After the game Tomlin described the outing as “sloppy,” while also praising Fields’ for his competitive spirit.
During Pittsburgh’s loss to Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, the Steelers broke from some of their tendencies by throwing more on early downs. While Fields played turnover-free football, he also had arguably his worst passing performance as a Steeler, completing a season-low 55.6 percent of his passes (15 for 27) for 131 yards and two touchdowns. At the end of the first half, the Steelers totaled 89 yards of offense, including 19 through the air.
Once again, it appears Wilson’s ongoing health concerns will be the biggest determining factor this week. But as some point soon, Tomlin is going to have to pick a quarterback and determine which one will be the starter going forward. That time appears to be coming sooner than later, making Sunday a pivotal game for Fields to prove he should be the answer going forward.
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(Photo: Joe Sargent / Getty Images)
