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Status quo in Pittsburgh, where Justin Fields will remain at QB while Russell Wilson rehabs

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Status quo in Pittsburgh, where Justin Fields will remain at QB while Russell Wilson rehabs
News

News

Status quo in Pittsburgh, where Justin Fields will remain at QB while Russell Wilson rehabs

2024-09-25 01:48 Last Updated At:01:50

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Mike Tomlin is in no hurry to announce Justin Fields as the starting quarterback in Pittsburgh.

While Fields will again get the nod on Sunday in place of the injured Russell Wilson when the Steelers (3-0) visit Indianapolis (1-2), Tomlin stopped short of giving the job to Fields on a full-time basis, mostly because there's no need at this point while Wilson rehabs from a calf issue he aggravated a few days before the season opener earlier this month.

“When Russ gets to an appropriate point of health and we have a decision to make, I’ll make it and I’ll announce it and I’ll be really transparent about it,” Tomlin said Tuesday.

Wilson will be limited again in practice on Wednesday, as the 35-year-old has been each of the previous two weeks. Tomlin didn't rule out Wilson's potential availability later in the week but added it will take more than just Wilson being cleared by the medical staff for him to be in consideration for a return to play.

Asked when he thinks Wilson might meet those benchmarks, Tomlin shrugged.

"We'll know when we get there,” he said. “He’ll not only be healthy in terms of keeping himself safe, but he’ll be healthy in terms of being able to be productive and do the things that he needs to do and we need him to do."

Wilson, signed to a one-year deal in March after being cut by Denver, beat out Fields during a training camp competition that felt “open” in name only. The nine-time Pro Bowler, however, aggravated a calf injury just days before the opener in Atlanta.

Fields stepped in and has steadily improved with each passing week. He completed 25 of 32 for 245 yards with a touchdown and an interception — his first of the year — in a 20-10 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday that pushed the Steelers to 3-0 for the first time since 2020.

“He’s steady, he’s a competitor, man, he likes to compete,” Tomlin said of Fields. “He doesn’t turn down things. He’s aggressive in play, scrambling and so forth. It’s just been fun to get to know him and not only know him as a guy but know him as a competitor.”

Fields is completing 73% of his passes, well above his career average of 60%. He's also thrown just one pick in 75 attempts, an ill-advised third-quarter throw against the Chargers that was batted into the air and pulled in by Los Angeles linebacker Bud Dupree. While Fields stressed he needs to be better going forward, it's also his only turnover in three games. He gave it away 41 times in 40 games during three seasons in Chicago.

After sticking mostly to passes on the outside in wins over the Falcons and Denver, Fields was more aggressive over the middle against Los Angeles. He connected on several important throws between the hash marks, none bigger than a dart to Calvin Austin III in the third quarter that Austin turned into a 55-yard touchdown.

Tomlin praised Fields' accuracy, something he first saw up close while attending Fields' Pro Day at Ohio State in 2021.

What Tomlin would like to see going forward from Fields is a better start. The Steelers went three-and-out on three of their first four possessions against Los Angeles, with only a methodical 13-play, 70-yard touchdown drive in between.

“We got to get that solved and get it solved quickly," Tomlin said, later adding, “Three-and-outs and things of that nature just doesn’t tee us up to play the type of ball that we desire to play.”

It's a type of ball — a physical defense and an offense that is careful but also dynamic — that has made the Steelers the early front-runners in the AFC North. Fields has been an increasingly significant factor in Pittsburgh's hot start. The season, as Tomlin put it Tuesday, is a “moving train.”

Asked if it's possible for the train to start moving too fast for someone with even Wilson's decorated resume to hop on and play immediately, Tomlin demurred.

“I don’t know, man,” he said. “We’ll know when we get there."

NOTES: OLB Alex Highsmith (groin) is likely out against the Colts. Nick Herbig, who had two sacks last week against Los Angeles, will fill in. ... G Isaac Seumalo (pectoral) could ramp up his participation this week. The veteran has been out since late August. ... RB Jaylen Warren's status is up in the air after Tomlin pulled him from the Chargers' game after noticing Warren was limping.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields (2) looks to pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields (2) looks to pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Investigators were questioning a family member of director-actor Rob Reiner and his wife Michele after they were found dead at their home in Los Angeles, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation.

Investigators believe they suffered stab wounds, said the official, who could not publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Los Angeles Police had not identified a suspect, Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton, the chief of detectives, said at a briefing on Sunday night.

“We are going to try to speak to every family member that we can to get to the facts of this investigation,” Hamilton said.

The Los Angeles Fire Department said it responded to a medical aid request shortly after 3:30 p.m. and found a 78-year-old man and 68-year-old woman dead inside. Reiner turned 78 in March.

Detectives with the Robbery Homicide Division were investigating an “apparent homicide” at Reiner’s home, said Capt. Mike Bland with the Los Angeles Police Department.

Los Angeles authorities have not confirmed the identities of the people found dead at the residence in the upscale Brentwood neighborhood on the city’s west side that’s home to many celebrities.

Reiner was long one of the most prolific directors in Hollywood, and his work included some of the most memorable movies of the 1980s and ’90s, including “This is Spinal Tap,” “A Few Good Men,” “When Harry Met Sally” and “The Princess Bride.”

His role as Meathead in Norman Lear's 1970s TV classic “All in the Family,” as a liberal foil to O’Connor’s Archie Bunker, catapulted him to fame and won him two Emmy Awards.

Relatives of Lear, the legendary producer who died in 2023, said the deaths left them bereft.

“Norman often referred to Rob as a son, and their close relationship was extraordinary, to us and the world,” said a Lear family statement. “Norman would have wanted to remind us that Rob and Michele spent every breath trying to make this country a better place, and they pursued that through their art, their activism, their philanthropy, and their love for family and friends.”

Messages to Reiner's representatives were not immediately returned Sunday night.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called it a devastating loss for the city.

“Rob Reiner’s contributions reverberate throughout American culture and society, and he has improved countless lives through his creative work and advocacy fighting for social and economic justice,” Bass said in a statement. “An acclaimed actor, director, producer, writer, and engaged political activist, he always used his gifts in service of others.”

The son of comedy legend Carl Reiner, Rob Reiner was married to photographer Michele Singer Reiner since 1989. The two met while he was directing “When Harry Met Sally” and have three children together.

Reiner was previously married to actor-director Penny Marshall from 1971 to 1981. He adopted her daughter, Tracy Reiner. Carl Reiner died in 2020 at age 98 and Marshall died in 2018.

Killings are rare in the Brentwood neighborhood. The scene is about a mile from the home where O.J. Simpson’s wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman were killed in 1994.

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Balsamo reported from Washington. Associated Press Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles contributed.

LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton speaks near Rob Reiner's residence Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton speaks near Rob Reiner's residence Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

FILE - Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner arrive on the red carpet at the State Department for the Kennedy Center Honors gala dinner, Dec. 2, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf, File)

FILE - Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner arrive on the red carpet at the State Department for the Kennedy Center Honors gala dinner, Dec. 2, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf, File)

FILE - Rob Reiner arrives at the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network's Respect Awards, in Beverly Hills, Calif., Friday, Oct. 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)

FILE - Rob Reiner arrives at the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network's Respect Awards, in Beverly Hills, Calif., Friday, Oct. 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)

A police officer blocks off a street near Rob Reiner's residence Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

A police officer blocks off a street near Rob Reiner's residence Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

FILE - Honoree Rob Reiner, second left, poses with his wife Michele, left, and children Nick, center, Romy, and Jake at the 41st Annual Chaplin Award Gala at Avery Fisher Hall, April 28, 2014, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Honoree Rob Reiner, second left, poses with his wife Michele, left, and children Nick, center, Romy, and Jake at the 41st Annual Chaplin Award Gala at Avery Fisher Hall, April 28, 2014, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

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