Steelers plan Justin Fields to start against Broncos as Russell Wilson struggles with calf injury

Wilson missed Week 1 after his calf injury from early in training camp resurfaced. Fields started the season opener, an 18-10 win at Atlanta.

Tomlin declined to speculate on whether Wilson would start on Sunday if he were healthy, calling it a “big if.”

“I just checked in with him. He feels better today than he did over the weekend,” Tomlin said of Wilson. “What that means, I don't know here today. I know we're going to take the same approach with injuries that we're taking with a lot of others. We're going to start with his participation and his level of participation, his quality of participation. As the week goes on, we'll analyze if he can protect himself, if he can be productive. When we get to those points, we'll think about whether or not he's going to be back in, and if that happens, it's probably going to be part of that equation.”

Wilson was the clear starter last week, but was listed as limited on Thursday and Friday and was questionable before Sunday's game. Ultimately, the Steelers ruled him out.

Fields had some dynamic moments with his legs against the Falcons and gained first downs, but he remained a passer with unpredictable throws. The hope is that Fields will play on the first team to start the week and develop a game plan around his strengths to help the former first-round pick improve in Week 2.

“Just saw Justin. He had a good workout here today and looking forward to maybe getting a full week in with him as far as the preparation process goes,” Tomlin told reporters on Tuesday. “But we're going to take it day by day. Russ is not expected to be working full-time tomorrow – to what extent, I don't know – and then we'll go by feel from there based on the results and the things we see in terms of whether or not we consider him and to what extent we consider him.”