JUSTIN FIELDS | PHOTO BY KARL ROSER/PITTSBURGH STEELERS

The drama surrounding the Steelers’ quarterback saga isn’t much closer to resolving itself than it has been ever since Russell Wilson suffered a calf relapse days before the regular-season opener, but there is an added layer of intrigue this week.

Mike Tomlin is now willing to consider hypotheticals.

The Steelers’ head coach did so twice in advance of Sunday night’s hosting of Dallas, a mere two weeks after dismissing such “speculation” as “a waste of my time.”

Related: Steelers’ Scenario Is What Might Have Been for Kenny Pickett

RUSSELL WILSON AT SUMMER TRAINING CAMP | PHOTO BY TAYLOR OLLASON/PITTSBURGH STEELERS

This time, Tuesday afternoon to be exact, Tomlin was asked if continued above-the-line play from Justin Fields in Wilson’s continued absence might eventually make Wilson’s health status irrelevant as it relates to the anointing of a QB1.

“There’s a potential for that,” Tomlin acknowledged, “but we’re not there as I stand here today.”

So … maybe they get there eventually, hypothetically speaking?

Tomlin, likewise, was willing to address, to an extent, whether Fields’ performance has afforded the Steelers the option of easing Wilson back as opposed to rushing him, of being deliberate rather than desperate.

“It potentially could,” Tomlin admitted. “But it has not to this point.

“The guiding factor for us in this point is the amount of ball that we have in front of us, how early we are in this process. That’s probably been one of the significant variables in terms of our approach to his rehabilitation.”

So … stay tuned, hypothetically?

This is getting interesting.

Fields got the ball for starters and has continued to run with it because he’s been healthy and Wilson hasn’t.

That’s still the case as the Steelers continue preparations for the Cowboys this week.

But Tomlin’s latest attempt at clarification/slash/confirmation turned into something of a revelation on the subject.

Fields, clearly, is making progress toward winning the job. Not as much as the Why-Hasn’t-Fields-Been-Named-The-Starter-Already Crowd has perceived. But with each passing week he’s looking like less of a reclamation project and more like a viable option, now and down the road.

There’s more work to be done before Fields can be viewed as such with certainty, much more, but he’s starting to remind everyone why he was considered a reclamation project worth undertaking in the first place.

Wilson, meanwhile, remains a guy the Steelers would be more than willing to get under center if they can get him there. Tomlin emphasizing “how early we are in the process” suggests in no uncertain terms the Steelers are still a long way away from reaching a point where they conclude Wilson has been on the shelf too long or Fields has simply done enough to win the job.

They aggressively pursued Wilson in the offseason for a reason.

And if it takes half a season or so for Wilson to get in a position where he can begin to justify faith in his ability to deliver what’s been missing from the offense that was so profound initially it included Cam Heyward, Minkah Fitzpatrick and T.J. Watt serving as recruiters for Wilson’s services, such a potentially lengthy delay would hardly seem to be a deal-breaker.

Especially given, as Tomlin acknowledged, “the amount of ball we have in front of us.”

That might even evolve into a best-case scenario for a quarterback who turns 36 in late November and one who was brought here to win in January much more than in September.

Everyone, it seems, wants a declaration yesterday, from Steelers fans to the national media.

But in a week-to-week league where winning ultimately matters much more than the architect of victory (ask Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph), the Steelers have time on their side.

That much, apparently, they’ve known all along.

Back in August, prior to a joint practice with the Buffalo Bills at Acrisure Stadium, assistant general manager Andy Weidl was asked if there was any concern within the organization about none of the quarterbacks (including third-stringer Kyle Allen) being signed beyond this season.

“You can’t worry too much down the road,” Weidl maintained. “At the end of the day, at the end of the season, you’ll know.”

That apparently goes for deciding which quarterbacks to start as well as which ones to sign.

Hypothetically speaking.

Mike Prisuta is the sports anchor/reporter for Randy Baumann and the DVE Morning Show. He’s also the host of the Steelers Radio Network Pregame Show and the color analyst for Robert Morris University men’s hockey broadcasts.