The Pittsburgh Steelers have two new men at the quarterback position. Russell Wilson and Justin Fields were acquired by the team in the offseason as part of a small retooling the team did. While there's questions about who will start for them, fans are nonetheless intrigued by this highly interesting quarterback battle this season.
Both Fields and Wilson will have one of the best offensive weapons in their arsenal in George Pickens. The Steelers wide receiver is one of the best young WRs in the league, with his ability to catch contested passes. As it turns out, Fields has some history with Pickens. The former Chicago Bear recalled a story about him and Pickens facing each other during high school.
““I knew George before y’all knew George,” Fields said. “I’ve known George since high school. He’s always been the same. Just a freak athlete, crazy receiver. You can just throw it up there when nobody’s open and he’s most likely going to come down with it. He’s the same player that I’ve known since high school.””
Fields will have a field day playing with Pickens if he eventually does get the start. The Steelers star wide receiver made a living out of catching the most absurd passes from his quarterbacks. He is a great receiver that can help elevate a quarterback's ply on account of his pass-catching alone.
Who will start for Steelers in Week 1?
Whether Fields starts in Week 1, though, is a completely different question. The common consensus right now is that Wilson is the Week 1 starter for the Steelers, which makes sense. Russ is the veteran, and he's proven himself to be a decent quarterback at the very least. Knowing how the Steelers operate, they would much rather get wins as soon as possible.
It's not unreasonable to think that Fields will get a shot at starting at some point in the season, though. Russ is getting older, and he's shown signs of declining play over the last few years. Playing in a heavily-controlled system such as the one Sean Payton drew up for Denver helped him a bit. However, under a… let's say, less proven offense led by Arthur Smith, Russ might crack for the Steelers.
As for Fields, the jury is still out on whether he's a good quarterback that was misplaced or if he's terrible. His rushing game is excellent: the Bears excelled the most when they gave Fields a chance to run. He also is great at throwing deep balls to stretch the defense. There's positives, but the negatives are hard to ignore. His on-field processing is still terrible, leading to unnecessary sacks. It's an area that we knew was a problem, but it still continues to show today.
His stint with the Steelers will be a chance to prove that he can thrive with a new coach teaching him. The argument many fans use to defend Fields is his admittedly terrible coaching and the revolving door of HCs and OCs around him. Now that he has a much better structure around him… will Fields thrive?
