The Pittsburgh Steelers had a concerning injury appear Sunday morning on their injury report. The 5-2 Steelers are set to play the 2-5 New York Giants on Monday night.
Quarterback Justin Fields was the team’s starting quarterback for their first six games while Russell Wilson worked his way back from a calf injury. The Steelers gave Wilson the starting job before their Week 7 37-15 blowout of the New York Jets.
Tomlin did not commit to Wilson starting in Week 8 but said the veteran would get reps with the first team at the start of practice on Thursday, per Christopher Carter with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
An update on the injury report is a good indication the Steelers will start Wilson. Per Steelers spokesperson Burt Lauten, Fields was added to the injury report Sunday with a hamstring issue.
“The Steelers are downgrading RB/KR Cordarrelle Patterson (ankle) to OUT for Monday’s game vs. NYG,” Lauten posted on X. “The team is also adding QB Justin Fields (hamstring) to the injury report and will be listed as questionable.”
There has been chatter in league circles that the Steelers could use offensive package that feature Fields, even if Wilson is the starting quarterback.
Fields athletic ability could be useful in the red zone, where Wilson and the Pittsburgh offense struggled early last week against the Jets. The hamstring injury could hamper Fields mobility for those packages.
Fields went 106-160 passing for 1,106 yards, five touchdowns and one interception through the first six weeks of the season. He added 231 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.