The Pittsburgh Steelers have both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields in their quarterback room. This sentence seemed inconceivable a couple months ago—and imagine a couple years ago. Of course, there’s a reason the Steelers had the opportunity to acquire both and do so without paying a premium. They still believe they made smart decisions, even if on a budget, but ultimately the players determine their stories.
And former NFL head coach Ron Rivera still believes at least one of them has quite a story to tell. The former Chicago Bears standout expressed some regret that they chose to move on, but he likes Pittsburgh for Fields.
“I love Justin Fields, too”, he said on the All Facts No Brakes program with Keyshawn Johnson, who added that he would have stuck with Fields if he were the Bears. “I think he’s gonna have a very good career, and I think Pittsburgh’s a great spot for him”.
Rivera said back in March, well before the Steelers traded for Fields, that he believed in such a move. “I think Pittsburgh would be a good landing spot for him”, he said. “They’re a physical running team. They’re a downhill running team, and I think that bodes very well for him just because of the fact that now you have a guy that can run play-action, move around in the pocket, sustain the play, keep the play going, and get the ball downfield”.
The Steelers only actively pursued a trade for Justin Fields after Kenny Pickett requested a trade. And Pickett only requested a trade after Russell Wilson agreed to sign with the Steelers. The rest of the dominoes seemed to fall quite quickly after that.
The Bears telegraphed their intention to trade Fields throughout the offseason and draft QB Caleb Williams with the first-overall pick. No doubt the obviousness significantly diminished his trade value, the Steelers giving up a conditional future sixth-round pick. If Fields plays more than 50 percent of the snaps in 2024, the pick turns into a fourth rounder instead.
Chicago claimed it received better offers for Fields, but that the quarterback preferred to go to Pittsburgh and the Bears wanted to “do right” by their guy. While that may be true, he is still likely to spend this season primarily on the bench.
Perhaps the Steelers design some packages that look to capitalize on his mobility, but we’ll have to wait and see. They’ve paid some lip service to the notion that Fields will have the opportunity to compete for the starting job. But again, we’ll see.
The 11th-overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Justin Fields owns a 10-28 record as a starter, including 5-8 last year. He is 578-of-958 passing in his career for 6,674 yards with 40 touchdowns and 30 interceptions. While he’s rushed for 2,220 yards and 14 touchdowns, he also has 38 fumbles.
The reward is high, but so is the potential for little return. That’s why the Steelers opted to pull the trigger when they managed to minimize the risk. Perhaps Pittsburgh is close to an optimal place for him to succeed—if he can succeed. The question is when we might see him get that opportunity.
