Russell Wilson Favored Over Justin Fields To Start For Steelers in Week 1

When trying to determine whether Russell Wilson or Justin Fields will be the Pittsburgh Steelers starting quarterback in Week 1 of the NFL season, one could either take Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin at his word, or try to “read between the lines”.

Those lines would be the betting odds. And while most major U.S. online sportsbooks do not have a definitive betting market for “Steelers Week 1 starting quarterback”, there is at least one that does offer such a proposition.

But looking at the other NFL futures odds on NFL season quarterback markets, it looks as if the answer is a foregone conclusion–as Wilson is included in most quarterback futures pools, and Fields is not.

Tomlin announced this week that Wilson is listed as QB1 on the depth chart and that “is real.”

However, Wilson will not play in the Steelers first preseason game vs the Houston Texans on Friday.

Wilson (who signed a one-year deal with the Steelers in March) became the presumptive QB1 in Pittsburgh when the Steelers traded last year’s starting QB Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles for a third-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

But things became a little complicated when the Steelers subsequently traded a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2025 draft for former Chicago Bears starting QB Justin Fields later in March.

What Tomlin Has Said

On Wednesday, Tomlin said “you guys saw the depth chart that I released yesterday. That is real.”

But Wilson, nursing a calf injury, has been very limited in training camp, and will miss the preseason opener against the Texans.

Fields, Tomlin says, “will play a couple series. I think everything is an audition. Everything that we do is an audition not only for him but for others.”

However, Tomlin also mentioned that the QB1 spot was up for grabs between the two signal callers.

Mike Tomlin on his QBs: "It very much is a competition. What happens in stadium is weighted heavier than what happens in a practice setting, because it's more game-like."

— Mike DeFabo (@MikeDeFabo) August 7, 2024

Reading Between The Lines

It is difficult to find a specific “Steelers Week 1 starting quarterback” betting market, but bet365 has one.

Steelers Week 1 Starting QB – Bet365	Odds
Russell Wilson	-300
Justin Fields	+225

But don’t let the lopsided odds of this one market paint the entire picture.

FanDuel offers NFL regular season passing props, with Wilson priced at +4900 to lead the NFL in passing yards, way down the list of other league starting QBs. Fields is not listed individually.

There are 25 NFL quarterbacks with season passing yardage totals where bettors can wager either over or under the listed number of total passing yards. Neither Wilson nor Fields are included.

Wilson is priced at +4200 to throw the most touchdown passes in the NFL this season. Fields is not listed.

FanDuel does offer at least two NFL season props for Fields. He is +750 for both “10+ rushing TDs in the regular season” and “to throw 25+ passing TDs in the regular season”.

Wilson’s FanDuel “season special” is to throw 40+ TDs and his price for that is currently +2900.

Steelers QB	Number of TD passes	Odds
Russell Wilson	40+	+2900
Justin Fields	25+	+750

DraftKings does include both Wilson and Fields in their NFL futures for “most regular season passing yards.” Wilson is priced at +10000, while Fields is +15000.

For “most regular season passing TDs” via DraftKings, Wilson is priced at +4500, while Fields is not listed as a betting option.

Fields For AP Offensive Player of the Year?

There is one betting market where Fields gets the best of Wilson, and that is the BetMGM “to win AP Offensive Player of the Year” wager. Fields is astonishingly only +5000. Other players listed at +5000 odds include Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen, Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson, and Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes.

Wilson is priced at +15000 in the BetMGM AP offensive player of the year market, alongside NFL rookies such as New York Giants WR Malik Neighbors and New England Patriots QB Drake Maye.

While it is highly unlikely that either Wilson or Fields will win any league-wide honors following the 2024-25 NFL season, simply by looking at the odds (and by taking Mike Tomlin at his word) it looks as if – for now – it’s a safe bet that Russell Wilson will be the Steelers starting quarterback come Week 1.