Former New England Patriots WR Chris Hogan, whom Steelers fans likely remember less than fondly for his performance in the 2016 AFC Championship Game, had some nice things to say about the Steelers while joining the panel on Good Morning Football today. Hogan believes that Justin Fields, who the Steelers acquired via trade from the Chicago Bears just over a week ago, has the potential in Pittsburgh to turn into the quarterback that he was expected to become when the Bears drafted him 11th overall in 2021.
Hogan said that despite the fact that Russell Wilson will start for the Steelers, Fields might get the chance to play this season and that he’ll benefit a lot from learning under Wilson.
“So is it Russell Wilson’s team at the beginning of the season? Probably. But is Justin Fields going to benefit from being in the same room as Russell and learning from him? I think so, and do we think that Justin Fields is gonna come in at some point in the season? Yeah, I absolutely think that,” Hogan said. “I mean, the potential of this kid, I don’t think we’ve really seen it. And I think that he’s gonna have the ability to kind of grow a little bit in Pittsburgh and become the quarterback we’ve all expected him to become.”
Mike Tomlin is also impressed with Fields’ potential, saying he “oozes” talent and potential at the AFC Coaches Breakfast this morning. While he reiterated that Wilson is in “pole position” for the starting job, Fields will have the opportunity to learn from Wilson and also push him a little bit in OTAs and training camp.
Given that the Steelers are unlikely to pick up Fields’ fifth-year option, both he and Wilson might be playing out contract years in 2024. But it would be a surprise if neither of them were on the roster in 2025, and it wouldn’t be a shock if the Steelers look to sign Fields to some sort of bridge extension to keep him in town to either be a high-level backup or potentially the quarterback of the future if things with Wilson don’t work out for one reason or another.
I don’t necessarily know if Fields will come in as the full-time starter at any point in 2024, but he might get a package of plays or some sort of opportunity to use his unique athleticism and speed to benefit the team. He needs to work on getting more accurate and developing as a passer, and Hogan thinks that he can do so working behind Wilson. Fields has said that Wilson is a player that he tries to model his game after, and learning from the Super Bowl-winning quarterback could help his development and help him start to reach that potential.
Fields is younger than Kenny Pickett, having just turned 25, and there are a lot of traits that he has that you just can’t teach. It’s going to be a matter of finding a way to put it all together so he can be a more consistent quarterback and it won’t be one breathtaking play followed by two bad plays. Even if it doesn’t work out with Fields becoming Pittsburgh’s quarterback of the future, he’s still a good backup and there’s no harm on the Steelers’ end since they only had to give up a conditional sixth-round pick to acquire him.
It’ll be fun to watch Pittsburgh’s quarterback room play out in the offseason, and hopefully both Fields and Wilson excel, giving Pittsburgh one of the stronger quarterback rooms in the league. No matter who starts, the goal is for the Steelers to finally win a playoff game for the first time since 2016 (they haven’t won one since the week before that Hogan game, actually). If that doesn’t happen, the season will go down as a disappointment.
