ORLANDO, Fla. – Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said there is no quarterback controversy in Pittsburgh as the team moves forward for the 2024 season, despite the fact the team acquired a pair of players who were the primary starters for their respective teams last season.
Veteran Russell Wilson will be listed as No. 1 on the Steelers’ depth chart once the team hits the practice field again, while Justin Fields will be No. 2. Where it goes from there is up to the players.
“We’ve been very transparent about the pecking order, at least to start,” Tomlin said Sunday at the annual NFL meeting here in Orlando. “I just think that provides clarity for all parties involved. Russell is a veteran. He’s got a proven process of readiness. He’s been in this league a long time. He’s capable of rallying troops, receivers, tight ends, running backs, etc. He’s just got a lot of experience. And I just think that that’s something that a younger guy like Justin could learn from. It provides clarity for all parties involved as they do some of the informal things that competitors do this time of year, whether it’s coming together to work out at destinations and things of that nature. Rest assured, when it’s time to compete, they’ll be given an opportunity to compete, and it will allow those guys to sort themselves out.
“Russell’s in pole position, I think his body of work you know, justifies that and, and just from my conversations with Justin, I know he he is excited about working alongside Russell and maybe learning some of those veteran tricks of the trade and things that he’s picked up from being in this league for over a decade.”
The Steelers signed Wilson, a 13-year veteran, earlier this month in free agency. Less than a week later, they acquired Fields, who is entering his fourth season, via a trade with the Bears.
That led to the team trading incumbent starter, Kenny Pickett, to Philadelphia in an exchange of draft picks.
Tomlin credited GM Omar Khan with quickly revamping the team’s quarterback room.
“We just studied the field and levels of availability among some of the candidates in the field. We got zeroed in on Russell and Justin among them,” Tomlin said. “The goal was to get one guy initially, but through conversation and work – and I can’t give Omar enough credit – we were able to acquire both guys. With Kenny, from his perspective, he felt like a change of scenery would be a good thing. Obviously, when we felt the trajectory of the business with Chicago moving in the right direction, those dominoes started falling.”
