The Russell Wilson era for the Pittsburgh Steelers is going to have to wait at least a week.
The Pittsburgh Steelers ruled out the veteran quarterback with a calf injury 90 minutes before Sunday’s season opener against Atlanta Falcons after watching Wilson warm up. Former Chicago Bears starter Justin Fields will start under center instead.
Wilson was deemed questionable for the game after being limited in practice both Thursday and Friday. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, he told the team he believed he could play on Saturday, but team doctors were more cautious about the game-time decision.
The injury itself goes back to the start of training camp.
How will Justin Fields do against the Falcons?
Both Fields and Wilson were acquired over the previous offseason, Wilson on a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum and Fields via a trade that sent back some minor draft capital. Wilson was available only because of the disaster that was his tenure with the Denver Broncos, which began with high hopes and ended with them eating the largest amount of dead money in NFL history just to get him off the books and start over with first-round pick Bo Nix.
Fields’ background wasn’t much better, and the team pitted the two against each other in a true quarterback battle in training camp. The veteran came out on top last week and was named a captain days later, but it will be Fields whom the Steelers play Sunday in his native Atlanta.
A good game by Fields could land him the starting job going forward even if Wilson is healthy. It could be a tall order against a Falcons defense that added Matthew Judon and Justin Simmons last month. Fields failed to establish himself as a franchise quarterback in three years with the Bears, and the supporting cast around him isn’t much better in Pittsburgh.