Though the Steelers may frame it as an open competition between pending free agent addition Russell Wilson and Kenny Pickett, their track record isn’t great with recent open competitions at the quarterback position. Going back to Pickett’s rookie season, Mitch Trubisky was given most of the QB1 reps, and there didn’t seem to be a true competition taking place at training camp.
There is also the fact that Wilson likely wouldn’t have signed with the team unless he was pretty sure he would be the starter. He is a fringe Hall of Fame quarterback with one Super Bowl championship under his belt.