The 2024 regular season is rolling into Week 2! The next week of preparation for the Steelers as they face the Denver Broncos is underway with head coach Mike Tomlin taking to the podium to address in the media for our beloved Tomlin Tuesday. With plenty of questions asked by those in attendance, it is once again time for a players mentioned article. Remember these are players where a specific question was asked during the Q&A period.

Russell Wilson

Coach Tomlin was asked if he expects Russell Wilson to be able to practice on Thursday.

“I don’t know. We’ve got a battery of movement scheduled for him tomorrow, and then as is our usual practice, we’ll meet with doctors after tomorrow’s practice, and we’ll probably have some more clarity then about what the rest of the week looks like.”

In a follow-up question, Coach Tomlin was asked if Wilson is healthy if he will start on Sunday. In his response he also mentioned Justin Fields but he will have his own separate section.

“That’s a big if. I’m not into the hypotheticals. As I mentioned, right now he’s not healthy, so my time and attention is focusing on the readiness of Justin [Fields].”

Coach Tomlin was asked how much Wilson contributed on the sidelines in Atlanta and did he help Fields throughout the game.

“Justin is probably better positioned to talk about those things. I’m managing the game and the people on the field, and some of those sideline discussions and so forth happen among others.”

Coach Tomlin was asked how much of an asset Wilson can be in Denver on the sideline knowing that he has experience with this team.

“Sometimes that’s overblown. If he’s on the sideline, he’s not making plays. The guys that’s on the field are the guys that have got to make the plays. That’s generally our mentality.We’re not resistant to help, but we’re not going to put it on a pedestal and make it appear more than what it is.”

Coach Tomlin was asked if Russell Wilson telling Justin Fields he was going to start this past Sunday was something he wanted or Wilson wanted to do.

“I’m not overly concerned with that cute minutia to be honest with you, as long as the information gets passed and we ready ourselves for the work.”

In a later question, Coach Tomlin was asked, since the Steelers quarterback is a national topic, if Russell Wilson will still be QB1 when healthy.

“Again, I’m not going to soothe you with hypothetical scenarios. It is my general practice to not. You guys that know me know I do not, so why start today because it’s the quarterback position or because it’s a national story? I am unmoved by some of those narratives, to be quite honest with you. We’ve got an approach to business. I always stand in front of you guys, when people are somewhat limited, I say we’ll push through the work week and let their participation be our guide in terms of whether to include them, and then the quality of that participation.This scenario is no different for me, respectfully. I understand that you have to ask that question, but it doesn’t mean that we need to change our position or do things that are abnormal in an effort to answer it. We’re just simply going to proceed with what we normally do. Our energies and attention are on those that are available and are scheduled to play. They are deserving of that. When those that are not healthy, we’ll ponder it at that time.”

Justin Fields

Coach Tomlin was asked what he saw from Justin Fields as he kind of settled in as the game progressed.

“I thought it was just that. I thought he settled in as the game went on. I thought he had clear eyes in weighty moments. I thought he was a good communicator in some of those moments where we had some discussions. We had a big third down play late in the game, third and seven, we had a timeout. We came to the sideline. We talked about leaving the ball in his hands. We bounced around some suggestions. He was a major component of that discussion.We went out. We left the ball in his hands. We had a designed quarterback run. He moved the chains in those circumstances.There was a lot of good. It’s just good to be in a stadium with a guy. You’re speculating until you are. And I just know a heck of a lot about him because of that experience, and I’m sure he knows more about himself in this environment and us. So it’s just really good things to build upon.”

Coach Tomlin was asked if he is finding Fields is a proven runner when it comes to getting out of bounds or wants to slide and how he is in that component versus other running quarterbacks.

“I have no issue with how he managed that component of it Sunday in Atlanta, but it’s a small sample size. I just think that’s always something that’s going to have my attention because the quarterback’s health is usually centered around that judgment and possession of the ball is usually centered around that judgment. So we’ll keep progressing.” 

In a later question, Coach Tom was asked about the Steelers running the second most read option plays in the first week and what Justin Fields adds with his ability to run the ball.

“To be quite honest with you, we didn’t run that many read option plays. They may appear to be read option plays because of the follow through. That’s why I laugh at the Next Gen stats and things of that nature sometimes. Sometimes it’s just a quarterback following through with a play fake after handing the ball off.”

Donte Jackson & DeShon Elliott

Coach Tomlin was asked what he learned about his new defensive additions of DeShon Elliott and Donte Jackson.

“Their veteran presence was evident. They’re new to us, but they’re not new to the NFL. So, I love their game day demeanor. They were communicative. They played with great energy. They were helpful to each other and others. That’s just stuff that you get from veteran players. New to us, but not new to the game. They weren’t wide-eyed, and I didn’t expect them to be. That’s one of the reasons why we were really excited about acquiring those men that you mentioned.”

Troy Fautanu

Coach Tom was asked about how difficult it is for Troy Fautanu to compete for a starting job now that the season has begun.

“It’s more difficult, but we have a commitment to continue it because we liked what we saw from him during team development. He’s deserving of that. His talents are deserving of that. We’ll balance that the best we can.”

In a follow-up question, Coach Tomlin was asked if Fautanu is back to being full ready to go with no restrictions.

“I don’t know what that means, but he’s practicing.”

Terrell Edmunds

Coach Tomlin was asked about the thinking behind bringing back Terrell Edmunds.

“It’s a guy that knows us, a guy that we know. During the course of this thing, particularly at this stage of the journey, you can’t have enough of those scenarios. It might not be a significant need now, but it might be a different scenario a few weeks from now, and that’s really the same spirit that we did business with Cam Sutton, if you will. When we’ve got guys that we know fit, that understand this environment, that we know are capable of helping us and we have an opportunity to do business, whether there’s a tremendous need or not, we have an interest.”

Payton Wilson & Elandon Roberts

Coach Tomlin was asked what he has seen from Payton Wilson and how he has seen him continue to grow after playing about half the snaps on Sunday. In his response, Coach Tomlin mentioned the division of labor between Wilson and Elandon Roberts.

“I thought it wasn’t too big for him, which I thought was a good start for a young guy. We divvied up the labor between him and Elandon Roberts to best fit their skill set as it pertained to that game. It might be different this week, to be quite honest with you. It’s a specialization game at this point in the NFL, particularly at the linebacker spot. He has a nice skill set. He can run and cover. Obviously,you know what Elandon brings, man. He’s a tooth chipper and always has been in the run game. So we’ve got some guys that can help us there. We’ll continue to work that balance. Just in general, liked what he saw from Payton in terms of production and demeanor.”

Jaylen Warren

Coach Tomlin was asked if Jaylen Warren is fully healthy.

“Again, that’s a slippery slope in the football world. He’s healthy enough certainly.”

Cam Heyward

Coach Tomlin was asked what he saw from Cam Heyward in the first game of the season as it looks like he was out on third downs.

“As he mentioned, we were playing some outside linebackers in one-dimensional moments. So if you put someone on the field, you take someone off. I like what he brought. He played about 35 snaps, and that’s moving in the direction of participation that we’re comfortable with for the totality of this thing, but it was business as usual for Cam.”

Spencer Anderson & Zach Frazier

Coach Tomlin was asked about the evaluation of the offensive line, particularly Spencer Anderson having to make his first start. In his response, Coach Tom also brought up Zach Frazier.

“I’m appreciative of the efforts and demeanor of a guy like Spencer [Anderson], of a guy like Zach Frazier, who are in stadiums with a starting capacity for the first time. There’s definitely a lot of positive things to build on. I like their attitude and demeanor and finish. We’ll keep working on the fine details.”

Scotty Miller

Coach Tomlin was asked about how Scotty Miller ended up being the emergency holder.

“I did a straw poll and asked, did anybody hold in high school? Scotty said, ‘Yes, I held in high school.’ But this was Thursday. He got a little bit after practice, man. Flexibility is awesome. It’s an asset to you. It’s an asset to us. He has that in his wheelhouse. He put it on display on Thursday, and he went out and put it on display on Sunday. It’s a pretty cool thing, man. But you get a lot of that around a professional football team. These are multi-talented guys. You’ll be surprised, that’s why I routinely ask do you have any hidden tricks I need to know about? Particularly when I acquire a new guy. I need to know all I can get about unique talents. Obviously, that was helpful to us, his contributions in that area.”

Larry Ogunjobi

Coach Tomlin was asked how a healthy Larry Ogunjobi affects defensive play.

“He’s got a chance to be big time disruptive, and he displayed some of that. I’m excited about watching that continue. He and I had a lot of discussions. This has been an awesome off-season for him. He was healthy all off-season. He went into training camp and team development healthy and allowed him to participate fully in the process. Really that’s the first time he’s been able to do that since he’s been here. It’s reasonable to expect the play to reflect that. I know he’s excited about that component of it. I don’t think any of us are surprised that he’s a positive asset to us. As a matter of fact, I can’t wait to watch it continue because he’s teed up for it.”

Joey Porter Jr.

Coach Tomlin was asked how he thought Joey Porter Jr. did against Drake London.

“He knows the job description. He wants the assignment of matching up with people week in and week out. Got a lot of respect for Drake London and his talents and the way they utilize him schematically. I thought Joey [Porter Jr.] did an awesome job. It’s week to week in this business, and particularly in the quarterback position, because I’m sure there’s a gentleman named Cortland Sutton that’s waiting on him in Denver, for example.That’s the battle of playing corner in this league, but again he loves it, and I’m glad that he does.”

Beanie Bishop

Coach Tomlin was asked how he thought Beanie Bishop handled his first game.

“I thought it was a great start for him. I thought the things that attracted us to him were on display. He played hard. He tackled well. He had a couple possession down stop tackles. I think he had a tackle on special teams. Really good start for an undrafted rookie certainly.”

Mike Tomlin’s complete press conference can be seen here:

Coach Tomlin speaks to the media ahead of our Week 2 game against the Broncos. @PNCBank

📺: #PITvsDEN 9/15 at 4:25 PM ET on CBS https://t.co/TXOr20gzX8

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 10, 2024