Justin Fields had opportunities this summer to cement himself as the Pittsburgh Steelers' starting quarterback while veteran Russell Wilson was slowed with a calf injury, but Fields's work against opposing defenses has left much to be desired.
For the latest edition of his "The QB School" YouTube program, former signal-caller and current analyst J.T. O'Sullivan broke down film from Fields' performance in last Saturday's exhibition loss to the Buffalo Bills and sounded alarms regarding the 25-year-old's play.
"Justin, for whatever reason, just continues to really struggle to put it together and really the combination of timing, rhythm, feel, playing within the structure of a play seems like it's almost completely regressed," O'Sullivan said, as Ross McCorkle of Steelers Depot shared. "And then even when things are open down the field, we're missing touchdown opportunities, and it's just really, really frustrating. I feel bad for everyone involved, but there's just no way you can look at the film and think that that is gonna be good enough to play consistently in the league."
O'Sullivan's criticisms are nothing new, as former Pro Bowl linebacker and current NFL analyst Bart Scott made similar comments after Fields fumbled a pair of exchanges and took two sacks in Pittsburgh's preseason opener against the Houston Texans back on Aug. 9. ESPN's Brooke Pryor later noted that Fields led Pittsburgh's offense to just three points against Buffalo.
Fields joined the Steelers from the Chicago Bears via a trade completed in March and reportedly spent several months reverting "to the natural throwing stance he used at Ohio State and in his first year in Chicago." While he made some highlight-reel plays from springtime practices through training camp, he's also largely looked like the same person who was, statistically speaking, one of the worst fourth-quarter quarterbacks of the past two NFL seasons.
"If I didn't know who this was and I didn't know how dynamic of an athlete and runner he's proven to be in the league, this is the type of film that you don't get to stick around from," O'Sullivan added about Fields.
Fields remains on track to reach free agency after the upcoming season and will likely enter this Saturday's preseason finale at the Detroit Lions as Pittsburgh's QB2 behind Wilson. As of Thursday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook continued to list Wilson as the betting favorite at -425 odds to start over Fields (+300) for the Steelers' Week 1 game at the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 8.
