The Pittsburgh Steelers are set to play their final preseason game on Saturday against the Detroit Lions. After that, the team will make final cuts on Tuesday, Aug. 27, and will then look ahead to the regular season opener.
Quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields are in the midst of a competition for the starting job, but there has been nothing to suggest that Fields has taken over the "pole position" Wilson has held all offseason long.
On Thursday afternoon, head coach Mike Tomlin revealed that Wilson will start the preseason finale, as expected, and nothing has changed in regard to the veteran's status as the favorite to start come Week 1.
Mike Tomlin says Russell Wilson will start Saturday and nothing has changed in regard to the "pole position" state #Steelers #NFL
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) August 22, 2024
In addition, all players who are healthy are expected to play in the final exhibition contest. That means Wilson will have his full complement of weapons, outside of rookie wide receiver Roman Wilson, who will not play as he continues to recover from an ankle injury.
Russell Wilson will start vs. Detroit, Mike Tomlin says. All who are healthy will play.
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) August 22, 2024
Typically, teams would like to sit their starters in preseason Week 3, but the Steelers have no choice but to play their top guys after what we saw last week when the offense struggled even worse than it did in preseason Week 1.
Neither quarterback was good, but they were also plagued by poor pass protection, something the team will hope improves on Saturday. Right tackle Broderick Jones was the biggest culprit, so the spotlight will shine extra bright on him.
While Tomlin has said that nothing has been officially decided yet at quarterback, the reality is that Wilson has always been expected to start, and there's likely nothing Fields can do to change that ahead of Week 1.
The Steelers and Lions will meet at Ford Field on Saturday, Aug. 24, with kickoff set for 1 p.m. ET. Detroit is not expected to play its starters in the contest.