The Russell Wilson era could be set to begin in Pittsburgh.
The veteran quarterback could start Sunday against the New York Jets after splitting practice reps with Justin Fields.
While Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has not named the starter for competitive reasons, he confirmed that the 35-year-old Wilson is being considered to lead the offense. The Steelers are 4–2 and tied for first place in the AFC North, but the offense has sputtered over parts of the season.
“Now, it’s about knocking the rust off. He did some of that last week. He is in consideration this week, we'll see where that leads us.”
Fields is second on the team with 231 yards rushing and five scores on 55 carries. Fields’s dual-threat ability has helped create matchup challenges for opposing defenses—a skill not lost on Tomlin.
“Justin has been really good, and we’ve been really good at times, but not to be confused with great,” Tomlin said. “This is a competitive league. We’re trying to position ourselves to be that team, and we got to play with talent with which we haven’t had an opportunity to play.
“So we’re going to potentially explore those things. Sometimes it doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with what Justin has done or has not done. Justin has been an asset to us.”
However, the Steelers are looking for more production from the offense, starting with the quarterback.
Wilson is a proven starter, throwing for 43,653 with 334 touchdowns and 106 interceptions over his 13-year career. He is a nine-time Pro Bowler, the 2020 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year, and a Super Bowl champion with the Seattle Seahawks in the 2013–2014 season.
The Steelers signed Wilson to a one-year, $1.2 million free-agent deal in March after the Denver Broncos released him after two underwhelming seasons.
Wilson sustained a calf injury in July during training camp that carried over to the season. He has slowly built up strength and is fully healthy to play against the Jets.
Tomlin is confident that Wilson is ready to play despite the lack of game reps this season.
“There’s also a totality of his resume as well that makes you more comfortable than guys with shorter resumes in that regard, in terms of the ability to play ball on a limited amount of exposure,” Tomlin said at the press conference.
“I have that mentality about guys across positions, and we’ve had that discussion before—with veteran players that comfort that comes with experience in some of those really sometimes uncomfortable discussions.”
The Steelers also have 14 sacks in six games.
