Steelers’ Justin Fields gets QB1 reps with Russell Wilson held out

LATROBE, Pa. — After waking up with calf tightness Thursday morning, Russell Wilson was relegated to being a spectator in his first training camp practice with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The 35-year-old quarterback alerted the coaching staff to the issue, and coach Mike Tomlin made the call to hold Wilson out.

“Starts aren’t always ideal, but that’s like life, man,” Tomlin said after practice. “Russ woke up today, his calf was tight. It was my decision to sit him down today, create a little short-term discomfort for him, not allowing a small problem to become a bigger problem.”

Tomlin characterized Wilson as “day-to-day” and added that Wilson wanted to practice.

“He wanted to — and he was probably capable — but I’m getting to know him, and I just chose to create a little misery for him and the offensive unit,” Tomlin said.

With Wilson out, former Chicago Bears first-round pick Justin Fields took first-team reps for the first time since being traded to the Steelers in March.

Fields was alerted to the elevation with a 6 a.m. text from the Steelers’ quarterback coach.

“He said, ‘Be ready to take some reps for the one today,'” Fields said, adding that he had been reviewing the playbook before he went to bed. “But’s good to face some short-term memory, some adversity, and some stuff that’s not expected because we’re going to face things in games that aren’t expected. It’s about how we react to those situations and how we adjust.”

Though Fields took first-team reps in Wilson’s absence, Tomlin maintained in his Wednesday news conference that “nothing has changed” to Wilson’s “pole position” status for the starting job. Asked how he would manage reps between Wilson and Fields, Tomlin grinned and responded, “very carefully.”

“You guys think I’m going to actually paint myself into a corner, so you guys are going to ask me daily about the rep allocations? No way,” he added. “I’ve been on the job too long for that.”