The Pittsburgh Steelers traded for Justin Fields in the offseason, parting ways with a sixth-round pick (that could become a fourth-round pick) to land the former Chicago Bears signal-caller. Fields was previously a first-round draft choice by the Bears in 2021 and is coming off the best year of his career in 2023 where he threw for 2,562 yards, 16 touchdowns, and nine picks in 13 starts.
The Bears, however, landed the top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft due to the Carolina Panthers' atrocious season and went with Caleb Williams with the number one pick. That meant that Fields was going to be on the move and the Steelers decided to bring him in to compete with Russell Wilson, who they had signed during free agency.
Both quarterbacks are on a one-year deal, meaning this will be a big year for both of them. Wilson is the projected starter for Pittsburgh but Fields' agent is still trying to push the narrative that the quarterback competition is very much alive.
""A lot of it has to do with agents and what they feed to the national reporters. I think Justin Fields' agent wants people to believe that Justin is in this and that he's still a viable quarterback on the open market." Fittipaldo said on the 93.7 The Fan's Joe Starkey Show. "Whatever happens this year, whether he's sitting on the bench all season I think his agent wants to keep his name hot. It's only natural for your rep to do this. Part of this is on the Steelers too, right? Because [Wilson and Fields] are both only signed to one-year contracts.""
- From Ari Meyer's article
Time to let Justin Fields' play speak for itself
Fields' agent is doing what most agents would do, which is prop their client up. That being said, if Fields is good enough to be the Steelers starting quarterback this season, we'll likely see that come to fruition. If he's not, then Wilson will continue to start.
This offseason was certainly an odd one for Fields, as he went from being a quarterback viewed as a starter to then getting traded for a Day 3 draft pick and now relegated to backup quarterback duties. Maybe he eventually wins the starting job back but he's going to have to prove on his own that he can do that.
Wilson had a down year in 2022 with the Denver Broncos but put up decent numbers in 2023. He was benched at the end of the season but that was more of a case of Sean Payton and the Broncos being ready to move on from him than it was Wilson's play.
The Steelers play in a tough division where every team finished with a winning record in 2023. The focus for this year is trying to win the AFC North for the first time since 2020. It won't be easy but if the defense can continue to ball out and Wilson (or Fields, whoever is running the offense) can be above average, this team has a great chance of being competitive in 2024.
