Opinions are all over the place about who will start at quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The cold truth is Mike Tomlin will decide when he gets ready. But that won’t keep Steelers fans from reacting to the depth chart order of the two signal callers.

According to a post on X by ESPN NFL reporter Brooke Pryor, the Steelers gave Wilson the nod over Fields on the team’s first depth chart.

What this means in real terms is anybody’s guess. It could be meant to motivate Fields to up his game and wrestle the spot from Wilson. It could be a deference to the decorated veteran. Or it could be a matter of appeasing the longtime NFL player. And, of course, it could be Wilson really is the dude who will start.

Steelers QB Justin Fields is pushing hard

Ask around and it’s pretty clear Fields is making a case to seriously challenge Wilson for the starting role. But let’s get dirt real. Fields has a career record of 10-28. And he’s now on the roster of a team that hasn’t experienced a losing season in 17 years under Tomlin.

Would Tomlin hand the keys to Fields and risk the franchise’s impressive streak? Let’s get further real. Wilson has a career record of 115-72-1. He’s a former Super Bowl champion. And anybody who follows the game know he’s one play away from having two.

But … and this is a big but … Wilson’s record in two years with the Denver Broncos ended at 11-19. In other words, the new and not improved version of Wilson isn’t all that much better than Fields.

So now it’s time to back to Tomlin. He told Up % Adams that it’s a battle, plain and simple.

“Justin Fields has absorbed a lot of responsibility since coming into the league,” Tomlin said. “It’s probably a great opportunity for him to work alongside, day to day, somebody at his position that’s done it longer and done it at a high level. But rest assured, both guys are gonna be given an opportunity to show their skills over the course of the next month. And I’m excited about watching them sort themselves out.”

When the Week 1 decision comes, it won’t be a surprise to see Wilson win the battle. His veteran leadership likely gives the Steelers a better chance early on. But he likely won’t have a long leash. In fact, even one subpar performance in a loss will be greeted with calls from the fan base to make a change. Not that Tomlin would listen to it in any kind of decision-making sense, but he knows whatever everybody else knows. Fields has talent — and much younger legs.