The Pittsburgh Steelers started Day 1 of training camp practice without their “pole” position quarterback, Russell Wilson, taking reps. Wilson reportedly suffered an injury before training camp and was sidelined for the first day of practice.
Justin Fields had a terrible day as the first-team QB
During training camp, Wilson and Justin Fields are battling for the QB1 job this summer. With Wilson sidelined Thursday, Fields received extra reps with the first-team offense. Unfortunately for Fields, he had an embarrassing day of practice during the team’s 11-on-11 period.
Russell Wilson is the presumed QB1
Fields needed to take advantage of Thursday’s opportunity. Per the NFL’s website, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said on Wednesday that nothing had changed between Wilson having the upper hand on Fields heading into training camp. Tomlin didn’t want to give many details on how he’d divvy up snaps between Fields and Wilson this summer:
“Very carefully,” Tomlin said when asked how he would allocate reps. “You think I’m actually going to back myself into a corner so you guys are gonna ask me daily about the rep allocations? No way. I’ve been on the job too long for that.”
Wilson suffered a calf injury
Fields’ best opportunity to earn the starting job will be this week, as the Steelers are unsure when Wilson will be able to practice again. According to Ian Rapoport with the NFL Network, Wilson suffered a calf injury:
Tomlin told reporters that QB Russell Wilson is dealing with a calf issue that he woke up with and he’s considered day-to-day. Justin Fields took the first-team reps.
The injury doesn’t seem too severe. However, a calf injury kept Aaron Rodgers and Joe Burrow sidelined for a significant amount of practice time last year. The Steelers don’t want the calf injury to become a more substantial issue for the 35-year-old quarterback.
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