Veteran quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields have been competing for the Pittsburgh Steelers starting quarterback job this offseason. But one ESPN analyst doesn’t think it was a real and honest quarterback competition between the two players.
During a recent appearance on Get Up, ESPN analyst Dan Orlosvsky called out the Pittsburgh Steelers and head coach Mike Tomin, claiming that everyone was “bamboozled” into thinking it was a real quarterback competition between Russell Wilson and Justin Fields.
“I would’ve started Justin Fields but this was never a quarterback competition,” Orlovsky said . “We were bamboozled a little bit. I have endless amounts of respect for Mike Tomlin, there’s no way that this was a quarterback competition. Russell missed practice and played in essentially one game. … We said if this was really going to be an open quarterback competition, I expected Justin Fields to win that. This was never a competition.”
“I would’ve started Justin Fields, but this was never a QB competition. We were bamboozled a little bit.”@danorlovsky7 on the QB battle in Pittsburgh pic.twitter.com/FtGVRES1c0
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) August 26, 2024
Orlovsky thinks that Tomlin made up his mind that Wilson would be the starter long before this point.
“Russell played in preseason Week 2, he threw the ball twice against [the Lions in Week 3],” Orlovsky added. “Now, Justin Fields has had the ups and downs…I thought he threw the ball really against the Detroit Lions. Everyone is going to say he took two more sacks — neither of them were on him. So, I understand the premise of they’re banking on the hopeful more consistency from Russell Wilson, but this was never a competition. If it was, Russell would’ve played much more in preseason Week 3.”
Tomlin still has not officially named a starting quarterback, but Orlovsky seems to think it will be Wilson, and that it was never really a question.
