Steelers select Russell Wilson over Justin Fields as starting quarterback

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin announced Wednesday that Russell Wilson will start at quarterback in his team’s season opener in Atlanta.

Wilson, who signed a one-year deal with the Steelers in March, entered the offseason as a “first-round pick” for the starting job, according to Tomlin. He held onto his spot despite a leg injury that sidelined him for most of the Steelers’ training camp.

Wilson will back up Justin Fields, whom the Steelers acquired from the Chicago Bears in a March trade for a conditional sixth-round pick.

Meanwhile, the status of one of the players who will protect Wilson in Week 1 appears to be in question. Steelers starting guard Isaac Seumalo left practice Monday with a chest injury. Initial tests revealed he did not suffer a season-ending injury, sources told ESPN. The team is still weighing how long Seumalo will be sidelined, but one source told Schefter, “We dodged a bullet.”

Although Tomlin said the two quarterbacks were in competition for the job throughout the preseason, Wilson always seemed to have the edge, including in the final preseason game, when he played just five snaps and led the first-team offense to a scoring drive before being taken out.

Fields played 56 snaps in the preseason to Wilson’s 25. Fields completed 19 of 27 attempts for 199 yards and led one scoring drive, while Wilson completed 10 of 12 attempts for 73 yards and led one scoring drive. Fields averaged 8.3 yards through the air per attempt, while Wilson averaged 5.7.

Wilson made his final start for the Denver Broncos, the Steelers’ Week 2 opponent, in Week 16 of the 2023 season before being benched for Jarrett Stidham for the final two weeks of that season.

Wilson, a nine-time Pro Bowl selection who won a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks, finished last season with 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions but was sacked 45 times. Fields, meanwhile, started 13 games for the Bears last season. He threw 16 touchdown passes and nine interceptions and was sacked 44 times.