The wheels are officially in motion for Russell Wilson to take over as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starting quarterback.
As head coach Mike Tomlin foreshadowed during his press conference on Tuesday, Wilson took first-team reps during practice on Wednesday afternoon for the first time since September.
During individual drills, Wilson was first among Steelers quarterbacks to complete his rep before Fields followed through with his own, further cementing the fact that the former will get the nod on Sunday.
He returned to practice as a full participant last week and was active for the Steelers’ Week 6 game against the Las Vegas Raiders after missing each of the team’s first five contests this year.
Justin Fields led Pittsburgh to a win over Las Vegas, snapping a two-game losing streak to move its record to 4-2, but it seemingly wasn’t enough to stave off a healthy Wilson from reclaiming the starting job.
During individual drills, Wilson was first among Steelers quarterbacks to complete his rep before Fields followed through with his own, further cementing the fact that the former will get the nod on Sunday.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero was the first to report that Wilson was prepping to start. Fields has blossomed into a quality option at the position during the early stages of the season, as he’s thrown for 1,106 yards and five touchdowns, but Pittsburgh will remain faithful to Wilson after he won the job in the preseason.
Wilson suffered a calf injury at the beginning of training camp that hampered his participation, though he was healthy enough to play entering Week 1. He reaggravated the injury during practice on Sept. 5, however, resulting in Fields replacing Wilson while he recovered over the first six weeks of the year.
At a point, it felt as though Fields would remain the starter even if Wilson was ready to take back over. Instead, Pittsburgh will turn to the veteran while looking to sustain its previous momentum.