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Pittsburgh Steelers starting quarterback Russell Wilson may not make his debut in black and gold until Week 4 of the 2024 season.
The Steelers are planning for backup quarterback Justin Fields to start both Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos and the Sept. 22 home opener against the Los Angeles Chargers, Gerry Dulac reported for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The plan is for Fields to start “while Russell Wilson continues to rest his injured calf so it doesn’t morph into something worse,” Dulac wrote.
That timeline would put Wilson’s earliest return on Sept. 29 during a road game against the Indianapolis Colts.
Fields made his Steelers debut last Sunday in Wilson’s absence. The former Chicago Bears starter went 17-of-23 for 156 yards, while making 14 carries for 57 yards, to lead the Steelers on six field goal drives in an 18-10 season-opening win over the Atlanta Falcons.
Fields split first-team training camp reps with Wilson, although the former Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos starter spent part of the summer sidelined by a calf injury.
Head coach Mike Tomlin named Wilson the starter at the end of the preseason, but added that Fields could still see playing time behind him.
Wilson hasn’t yet been able to take over that starting position since aggravating the calf injury prior to Week 1.
On Thursday Wilson told reporters he was getting “closer and closer” to being game-ready, per ESPN’s Brooke Pryor, but added that the Steelers were exercising caution due to the timing of the injury.
“I think coach, he’s also and the trainers just want to be smart, too, as well just because it’s early in the season,” Wilson said, per Pryor. “I think that if this is the last game of the season kind of thing or one of those kinds of games, we’re definitely going. I think right now I want to go, but we also, too, want to be smart, too, as well.”
Making sure not to rush Wilson’s return to the field could increase the chance that the 35-year-old quarterback will be healthy later this season.
It would also raise the question of whether the Steelers’ QB1 battle truly ended in the preseason. If Fields is able to lead Pittsburgh to victory through two more games, there could be further debate as to whether he or Wilson should start going forward.
All eyes will be on Fields as he takes on the team that released Wilson last season Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET.
