Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson. Barry Reeger-USA TODAY Sports

NFL futures: How long will Russell Wilson stay the betting favorite to start Week 1?

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated Aug 5, 2024 3:32 PM ET

Of all of the quarterback battles currently taking place, the competition at the Pittsburgh Steelers training camp is one of the most intriguing. Could the current odds of who starts Week 1 change as the preseason rolls on?

DraftKings has been keeping up on the QB contests and currently lists Russell Wilson as the -300 favorite to start for Pittsburgh on Sept. 8. That shouldn't be too much of a surprise since head coach Mike Tomlin has all but said he wants Wilson under center for that game.

However, Wilson has been very limited early in training camp with a calf injury. In the meantime, Justin Fields has been getting work in with the starters and garnering plenty of attention from fans and pundits alike.

DK lists Fields at +300 odds to start for the Steelers in Week 1. How soon will those odds shift if Wilson remains unavailable?

What's the ONE thing #Steelers HC Mike Tomlin finds himself telling QB Justin Fields over and over??

"I don't wanna squash his natural instincts." @heykayadams @CoachTomlin @justnfields @steelers pic.twitter.com/pIptZU1yGL
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) August 3, 2024

Perhaps the biggest reason Wilson is still the betting favorite is that Tomlin has all but said that the former Super Bowl champ has earned it because of his professional resume. Despite the rocky couple of seasons he has had, Tomlin still sees him as the obvious front-runner while Fields takes on a backup role.

"Certainly, they’re competing, but I don’t overly concern ourselves with being fair," Tomlin told "Up & Adams" when asked about the Wilson-Fields battle. "There’s no such thing as 50/50. We just pay respect to the totality of his resume and his experience. We lean on it; we let him lead the group informally."

Given the difficult position Fields was thrown into having to carry the Chicago Bears, a season of backing up a more seasoned QB could be could for him. That being said, he also has the opportunity to earn more playing time given Wilson's injury status.

Sports Illustrated reports the Steelers hope to get Wilson back during the third week of camp so he can get quality practice time in with the starters. However, it's unlikely — especially with the injury — that he would get any playing time in Pittsburgh's preseason opener against the Houston Texans this weekend. That start would certainly allow Fields to showcase his talents and vie for the starting job.

Justin Fields getting to work pic.twitter.com/heMn7TiJqc
— Nick Farabaugh (@FarabaughFB) August 4, 2024

It's worth it to keep an eye on those starting QB odds. If Wilson's injury status doesn't improve and Fields has a nice showing in preseason play, we could very quickly see him go from the +300 underdog to the favorite to be QB1 to start the season.

More must-reads: