By Dale Lolley /Steelers.com
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin knows who his starting quarterback will be Sunday night when the team hosts the New York Jets at Acrisure Stadium.
He’s just not going to tell the Jets exactly who that will be just yet.
Tomlin said earlier this week that veteran quarterback Russell Wilson would be in play to start the game against the Jets over Justin Fields, who has gotten the nod in the Steelers’ first six games with Wilson recovering from a calf injury, and that he would make that decision later in the week.
The Steelers (4-2) held their final full practice Friday in preparation to host the Jets (2-4), but Tomlin declined to say which quarterback would start, only saying he had made that determination.
“I’m going to keep that in-house,” Tomlin said.
But Tomlin did acknowledge that Wilson has looked good in his second week of full practice after missing the first five games. Wilson was active for the first time in a win over the Raiders last week, serving as the backup to Fields after participating fully in practice for the first time in the lead up to that game.
“I thought he was sharp. I thought Justin was sharp as well,” Tomlin said. “I thought we had a highly productive week from both guys and from the unit as a whole.”
The Steelers signed Wilson as a free agent in the offseason following his release by the Broncos, who chose to move forward with rookie Bo Nix at the quarterback position. A few days later, they acquired Fields via trade with Chicago in a swap of late-round draft picks after the Bears decided to select quarterback Caleb Williams with the first pick in this year’s draft.
Wilson, a 13-year-veteran, was placed in what Tomlin called “pole position” to be the Steelers’ starter throughout the offseason and training camp and was named the team’s starter heading into the regular season.
But three days before the team’s regular season opener at Atlanta Sept. 8, he aggravated a calf injury that had sidelined him for two weeks during training camp, elevating Fields into the starting lineup.
Fields has thrown for 1,106 yards with five touchdown passes and one interception while completing over 66 percent of his pass attempts this season. He’s also rushed for 231 yards and five touchdowns, utilizing his legs as a weapon.
Tomlin acknowledged at his Tuesday press conference earlier this week that Wilson doesn’t have the running ability of Fields, but the Steelers also could be looking to boost a passing attack that ranks 28th in the NFL, averaging 166.8 yards per game.
Wilson, a nine-time Pro Bowl player who has twice taken his teams to Super Bowls, winning once, has been one of the NFL’s most dangerous passers over the course of his career. The 35-year-old has passed for more than 43,000 yards with 334 touchdowns and 106 interceptions.
His touchdown-to-interception ratio is third in NFL history behind Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers, whom he will face Sunday as the quarterback of the Jets.
Wilson threw 26 touchdown passes against eight interceptions last season in 15 games for the Broncos.
Tomlin acknowledged that the Steelers could utilize the skillsets of both quarterbacks Sunday against New York, regardless of who gets the starting nod.
“Certainly,” he said.
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Dale Lolley is co-host of “SNR Drive” on Steelers Nation Radio.
