After the Fields trade was announced, Steelers fans had a pretty important question. Who would be the starter for the team? Both Fields and Wilson were starters last season, after all. As it turns out, Wilson will still be the Steelers’ starting quarterback for the 2024 season despite the trade, per Ian Rapoport.

“Speaking of Justin Fields and the #Steelers trade, coach Mike Tomlin reached out to Russell Wilson last night when the trade was going down to let him know he was the starter. @TomPelissero said it last night, and Tomlin views that as the plan. Fields will compete, regardless.”

That’s… fascinating, to say the least. It’s not that surprising: the Steelers have always prioritized being competitive, so the veteran getting a shot over the youngster was almost a given. Still, that makes you wonder why the Steelers would even trade for Fields if he’s not going to be the full-time starter.

Perhaps Pittsburgh has a play to reinvigorate the young quarterback. Sitting down and learning from an elite coach could be the key to helping Fields develop. His on-field processing was his biggest weakness. Sitting down and watching the play from the sidelines could help the new Steelers quarterback improve on that aspect.

How competitive will this new-look Steelers unit be? It will be interesting to see how well they’ll fare in the AFC North.