Could the Steelers win a Super Bowl with QB Justin Fields?
And if not, why bother talking about it? If the Chicago Bears are willing to part with him, it might be reasonable to assume he’s not championship material. Yet all we’re hearing lately is not only how much the Steelers secretly like Fields but how so many people seem to think trading for him is an absolutely marvelous idea.
So is it? The criterion is simple: would the Steelers acquiring Justin Fields make them a Super Bowl contender within a short time? Unless they managed to get him cheaply, the Steelers necessarily would have to think so.
I never buy into change for the sake of change. Kenny Pickett may not be the answer at quarterback, but that doesn’t make the next shiny object so either. Fields is pretty shiny and checks a lot of Mike Tomlin boxes, such as mobility.
He may well make the Steelers better as an option over Pickett or Mason Rudolph. But does he make such a difference that they are instantly one of the top teams in the league? Or if not instantly within a reasonable timeframe?
The Bears drafted Fields 11th overall in 2021. They hold the first-overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and many expect they will draft a quarterback. Fields is 10-28 as a starter, including a 5-8 record during the 2023 season.
His numbers do not vary widely from year to year. In three seasons, he is 578-for-958 passing for 6,674 yards with 40 touchdowns to 30 interceptions. He has a 4.2-percent touchdown rate and a 3.1-percent interception rate. And he has a 12.4-percent sack rate. Though he’s averaging a completion on just over 60 percent of his passes, his success rate is 37.8 percent. Which is ass.
He has three game-winning drives in his career and somehow received a vote for NFL MVP in 2022 when he went 3-12, which is astonishing. But he runs a lot. He has 14 career rushing touchdowns on 356 attempts for 2,220 yards. Oh, and he’s fumbled 38 times in his career. Is this your next Super Bowl MVP in the Black and Gold?
The Steelers’ 2023 season has been put out of its misery, ending as so many have before in recent years: a disappointing, blowout playoff loss. The only change-up lately is when they miss the playoffs altogether. But with the Buffalo Bills stamping them out in the Wild Card Round, they have another long offseason ahead.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Is Kenny Pickett the guy? Will he get another season’s reprieve without a serious challenge? How will the team address the depth chart? Do they re-sign Mason Rudolph, one of few significant unrestricted free agents?
The Steelers are swirling with more questions this offseason than usual, frankly, though the major free agent list is less substantial than usual. It’s just a matter of…what happens next? Where do they go from here? How do they find the way forward?
