Who Should I Start? Justin Fields or Brock Purdy

Thursday, July 25, 10:26 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields was surprised early Thursday morning to learn that he would take all the reps with the first-team offense on the first day of Steelers' training camp. Mike Tomlin decided to hold Russell Wilson out for the time being with a sore calf muscle. "I decided to sit (Wilson) down today and create a little short-term discomfort for him, not allowing the small problem to become a bigger problem," Tomlin said. He characterized Wilson as day-to-day. Meanwhile, Fields looked sharp during portions of Thursday's practice and, at other times, looked like someone still trying to figure it out. The Steelers shocked the world when they brought in both Wilson and Fields this offseason, and a bit of a quarterback competition would probably do them both some good. Wilson -- if healthy -- appears to be locked in as Pittsburgh's starter, but this will be a situation to monitor all the way up until Week 1.

Monday, June 10, 8:18 PM

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy feels better positioned for success heading into the 2024-25 campaign. Unlike last offseason, when the signal-caller was working his way back from an elbow injury, he has been training since the 49ers were defeated by the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII. "We got all the way to the end. We're right there and weren't able to finish it," Purdy said during an interview. "So for me, I had that taste in my mouth, and then get back into the gym, start slowly, working into it. And then here, in OTAs, getting with [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] and going over all the games that we played in, every play, and going over situational football and stuff, and taking that and actually going out on the field and running things and repping things, and throwing to receivers. Last year, I didn't have that, so now that I'm able to attack those things, I feel like I've gotten better." Purdy finished the regular season by throwing for 4,280 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 11 picks while completing nearly 70% of his throws. It remains to be seen if the 24-year-old will be better than he was in 2023-24. But he's a viable fantasy quarterback in nearly all formats, even more so if Brandon Aiyuk remains with the Niners.