Halicke: Wilson returns, but Fields stacks on another good day

LATROBE, Pa. -- Despite what odds are circulating your favorite betting sites, no, we're really not on the brink of a quarterback competition just yet. 

But, in the Steelers' first fully-padded practice of training camp, there's no doubt that Justin Fields was a clear winner from the landmark day at Saint Vincent College.

"I don’t know that attire created any new learning from a quarterback perspective in terms of evaluating them," Mike Tomlin said after practice. "He’s been doing a really good job, and it continued today."

Fields' fine day began during "seven shots," one of the highlights of any training camp practice in which the offense and defense square off at the 2-yard line in a goal-to-go or two-point situation. But, the first day of pads brings a new intensity and new wrinkle to the drill, as running plays are called more frequently and carry more weight since the ball carrier has to be brought to the ground.

While in command of the first-team (more on Russell Wilson soon enough), Fields helped the offense gain a 3-1 lead over the defense, which included a heck of a pass on a fade to George Pickens, who came down with a ridiculous one-handed catch:

After the offense stumbled twice in a row with Kyle Allen at quarterback (in which Roman Wilson went down with an ankle injury on a jet sweep), Tomlin called on the first-teamers to trot back out for the seventh and deciding rep. The offense ran a read option, in which Fields held onto the ball and trotted into the end zone for an easy score -- at least, easy for a guy such as Fields, who runs like a gazelle.

The offense claiming the first seven shots of padded practices definitely made its impact on the field.

"It was real quiet today, I don't know if you guys noticed," Dan Moore Jr. said with a smile after practice. "I don't know if they didn't care or what, but it was real quiet."

The longer-lasting impact is that it was just the beginning of undoubtedly Fields' best day in a Steeler practice uniform. Fields was decisive, he was mostly on time when working within the structure of the concepts that were called, and he was accurate. He didn't throw any incompletions during 7-on-7, and if there were any during 11-on-11, they were few and far between. 

Fields also made more plays with his legs, including an improvised run out of play-action later in practice during 11-on-11, in which he got to the edge with ease and took off for a big gain down the left sideline:

"It's super fun, being able to show my legs off a little bit," Fields said after practice. "Practice was definitely fun today. First day of pads, so a little bit more energy out there. Guys getting to hitting a little bit. But for me personally, I think I've been growing, getting better each and every day. That's the goal. I think everybody's been doing a great job."

It's not been perfect for Fields. He's had a couple days thus far that have been pretty inconsistent. He throws the deep ball well. Pretty much everyone knows that by now. Even amid the 41 turnovers over three seasons in Chicago, Fields' arm talent has never dwindled. But, there have been occasional reps here in which the same type of mechanical issues we saw in Chicago pop up, especially on passes to the flat and on quick outs.

As for those turnover-worthy plays, Fields has thrown one interception thus far in camp, with only a couple of other dangerous throws that could have been picked by better defensive backs.

But, Tuesday was definitely a step in the right direction for Fields. There's no question about that. And the good thing is Fields knows there's room for more improvement.

"I didn't feel like my mechanics were fully on point," Fields said. "So, I'm just going to try to continue to work on that and get back to where I want to be with that. But when the team periods did come, I was making sure I was getting completions."

While Fields is doing everything he can with every rep on the first team, Wilson is slowly working his way back from a calf injury that's kept him pretty much sidelined since camp opened. Tuesday was the first day he donned a helmet and actually participated in some full team drills, though he was still limited while Fields handled essentially all of the first-team reps.

"I'm watching every rep, watching everything if I'm not in there," Wilson said. "Getting the reps today was really good for me, just to be able to do 7-on-7 and be in the mix. That was the plan the whole time, just to be able to get as many reps in 7-on-7 as I could. That was really good stuff today."

Wilson has been as engaged as a player can be during training camp, and that doesn't just mean on the field. Sure, he's constantly been the team's biggest cheerleader while wearing a ball cap or standing off to the side with his helmet unstrapped.

However, Wilson is constantly praising the time he's getting with his teammates in the environment Saint Vincent College provides for the players. He talked about having some alone time with Harris and Jaylen Warren away from practice in which the trio went more over the details of the offense, and even competitive, hour-long Uno card games at night.

Wilson's doing all he can to bring the offense together, so that when his time comes to fully take over in his "pole position," they're as prepared as possible:

"The guys are doing a great job, the receivers, the tight ends, the running backs. Really understanding the concepts, getting open. Offensive line too, they're doing a great job of keeping us protected against a really good defense," Wilson said. "It's always a work in progress. We're always working every day, and it's a constant obsession with how we want to be, how we want to go, the intensity of practice. That's what I try to bring every day to practice, that level of intensity, that level of focus, that level of detail. I think it's really critical to be successful. We're working on it every day."

No, this isn't oil and water. This isn't a traditional quarterback competition. Wilson and Fields aren't pitted against each other. The job is Wilson's to lose. That hasn't changed, and it would take something very dramatic to alter Tomlin's plans.

However, Fields is doing more than enough to prove that he needs to be part of this offense in some capacity. I don't know if that comes in some sort of Taysom Hill-esque package or not. Maybe it's more complex than that. But, days like today can make one think, "He's just too talented to be standing on the sidelines holding a clipboard."

There's still a long way to go. We're barely a week into training camp. The first preseason game is still well over a week away. And days such as today won't change the pecking order of the quarterback position, but it can be the first sign that things could be better this season at the most important position in the game, one way or another.