There’s a reason why Justin Fields, even knowing he’d be the backup, still wanted to come to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Fields has all the tools and traits. Big arm. Ridiculous athleticism. But there’s something he’s been missing through no fault of his own. Stability and coaching. Two things lacking in Chicago.
He’ll get that in Pittsburgh, and for Merril Hoge, it might be the solution to turning Fields’ career around. Hoge joined Randy Baumann and 102.5 DVE Thursday morning to discuss Fields’ outlook with his new team.
“Here’s what Justin Fields’ biggest issue was coming out of Ohio State,” Hoge told the show. “Biggest issue. He was raw. There’s two things that I look for that you have to have. And if you don’t have [them], I don’t care what you have after that, you cannot win in the National Football League consistently. You have to be accurate and you have to be a great processor. And he was accurate enough, but his processing was just raw.”
That’s proven true after being thrust into a starting role early in his rookie season. Fields’ highs are high, but his lows are low. No one turns the ball over or creates as many negative plays as he does. Since being drafted in 2021, Fields “leads” the NFL in sacks taken and fumbles while his interception rate is among the highest in the league. Unless he develops as a passer from a foundational standpoint, he won’t find long-term footing in the league.
Given that, no team was interesting in trading for Fields to start. Even Pittsburgh was wary, only turning back to Fields after signing Russell Wilson and Kenny Pickett’s departure. The Steelers have won games the last two seasons because of their ability to take care of the football. For all of Pickett’s warts, he was smart and careful (perhaps too much, you could argue).
But now Wilson’s backup, Fields can sit and learn behind a quarterback he modeled his game after.
“[Fields] got three offensive coordinators in three years,” Hoge said. “There is no way you can develop a raw guy when you keep changing. You just can’t do that. I don’t think he’s ever had a fair chance, to be honest with you. I believe that he does have potential…if you could hunker him down, you could give him the same system and you could develop him. If you do that, you’ve got a guy that I think could be a very, very, very good quarterback in the National Football League.”
Though Pittsburgh’s undergone its own coaching changes, swapping out Matt Canada for Arthur Smith at OC, the Steelers will be a stabilizing force. In Chicago, head coach Matt Eberflus and general manager Ryan Poles were worried about losing their jobs and had it not been for the Bears’ late-season winning streak in 2023, they likely would’ve been canned. In Pittsburgh, Mike Tomlin’s about to receive another contract extension, likely coming next month. And the offense is starting over with a clean slate of coaches in coordinator, QB coach, and WR coach. A solid-looking group that should bring a clear identity and vision to the Steelers’ offense.
Still, the team will need to bring another weapon to the offense after trading WR Diontae Johnson. Perhaps it’ll be a mid-tier free agent, high draft pick, big-time trade, or some combination of the three.
Following OTAs and minicamp, we’ll get eyes on Fields during the summer. On paper, he should excel running the second-team offense and competing against backup defenders. But that’ll be our first gauge on if Fields can begin cutting down on mistakes and having less variance in his play. If he does that, he won’t be a backup for very long.
