While the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to give Russell Wilson every chance to start at quarterback in 2024, they are excited about backup Justin Fields, whom they acquired via trade from the Chicago Bears just over a week ago. At the AFC Coaches Breakfast at the NFL Owners Meetings this morning, Tomlin said that Fields “oozes talent and potential,” according to TribLive’s Joe Rutter.
“He oozes talent and potential. He’s worn the responsibility of being a franchise quarterback, but still he gets an opportunity to come in a community-like situation and learn from a guy that’s been doing it for over a decade. Man, there’s a lot of meat on that bone, I’m just excited about working to be a part of extracting it,” Tomlin said via Good Morning Football, which aired a portion of his media session.
Fields is someone who Tomlin reportedly loved in the pre-draft process. The Steelers never had a chance to take him as he went to Chicago at 11th overall in 2021, while the Steelers had the 22nd overall pick, which they used on RB Najee Harris. Fields spent the last two years as the primary starter for the Bears, and he also started 10 games during his rookie season, replacing Mitch Trubisky. He offers tantalizing speed and athleticism, and he ran for 1,143 yards and eight touchdowns in 2022. He’s shown flashes as a passer as well, but he’s never been consistent enough to be considered anything special.
But the potential is still there, as Fields just turned 25 years old earlier this month and has a lot of the tools that he needs to be successful. Learning under Wilson in Pittsburgh should help him, and Tomlin seems to think that Fields could become a really talented player in the league.
It’s an interesting comment when you consider Gerry Dulac’s report after the Fields trade that the team was planning on signing Wilson to a longer-term deal after 2024. Obviously, no one knows for sure how Wilson is going to perform so that’s certainly not set in stone. But given the potential that Tomlin feels Fields has, it could throw a wrench in the plans to re-sign Wilson if money or performance gets in the way.
Fields should grow and start to tap into that potential playing behind Wilson, and we’ll see how he looks in OTAs and training camp. There’s a very small chance he could win the job in 2024, but Tomlin said yesterday that Wilson is in “pole position” and to me, it would be a surprise if he isn’t Pittsburgh’s Week 1 starter. But if Fields can continue to improve and build off what he’s done so far to become a better, more accurate passer and a more well-rounded player, he certainly could end up being Pittsburgh’s quarterback of the future.
He’s barely been on the team for a week, and we haven’t seen him or Wilson hit the field with the rest of their teammates yet, so it’s hard to truly say what things will look like, but Tomlin sure seems high on Fields and his potential. It bodes well for his future as a member of the Steelers, and we’ll see how the quarterback room looks this summer and fall.
