Russell Wilson beats out Justin Fields for Steelers’ starting quarterback job

The Pittsburgh Steelers have decided that Russell Wilson will be the team’s starting quarterback for Week 1, the team announced on Wednesday.

“[Practices] are intense by design,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said, “because we’ve gotta know. I hate speculation. It’s a football-like environment. We try to make it as football-like as we can and I saw enough to be comfortable certainly.”

Wilson beat out Justin Fields, whom the Steelers acquired in a March trade. Wilson will make his debut in Atlanta during the Steelers’ Week 1 game against the Falcons.

Tomlin said he met with both quarterbacks after Wednesday’s practice and told them of his decision — a decision he noted was “difficult” given the skills of both players.

Going back to right after the Steelers added both quarterbacks to the roster, Tomlin said that Wilson had the “pole position” on the QB1 job, but he welcomed the competition between Wilson and Fields.

The 35-year-old Wilson, who dealt with a strained calf for most of training camp, played two preseason games and was 10-for-12 with 73 passing yards and no touchdowns or interceptions. Fields played in three preseason games, passing for 199 yards and also did not throw any touchdowns or interceptions.

After two years with the Denver Broncos, Wilson was released in March and later signed a one-year, $1.2 million to join the Steelers, one day after they acquired Fields.

Wilson played 15 games with the Broncos last season and threw for 3,070 yards with 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions.