It might not have been much of a competition coming into training camp at the quarterback position for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but with Russell Wilson missing the first day of training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe with a tight calf muscle, Justin Fields took advantage of the surprise QB1 opportunity Thursday.
While he had some great moments and some not-so-great ones, Fields did what he had to do, stepping through the doorway of opportunity and putting his talents on display.
Now, former NFL linebacker Bart Scott — during an appearance on ESPN’s Get Up! Friday morning — wants him to take the job outright from Wilson and never give it back.
“If I’m Justin Fields, I’m saying, ‘This is my opportunity. He’ll never get this spot back ’cause I’m gonna get chemistry.’ And when you talk about older quarterbacks…you got the 30 and over club, you guys don’t bounce back like they used to,” Scott said of Fields and the Wilson injury situation, according to video via Get Up! on Twitter. “Camp isn’t as tough as it used to be, but you talk about Russell Wilson, calves don’t just get better easily, right? So you have that, that can grow to other things. Compensation…now his other hamstring is hurting.
“This is an opportunity for Justin Fields. If I’m part of his team, I’m saying, ‘Go take the job.’ This is your opportunity to be a starter, be on a good team, a great situation for you and this could be your future. And what better organization to get that started than the Pittsburgh Steelers with a proud tradition?”
.@BartScott57 believes now is the time for Justin Fields to prove himself ⏰ pic.twitter.com/GVjH9miBfA
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) July 26, 2024
In life, and in sports, all you need is an opportunity, no matter how it comes.
It’s certainly unfortunate for Wilson that the opportunity comes in the form of an ailment, but to Fields’ credit he was prepared and took advantage after finding out early Thursday morning he’d be getting QB1 reps. He ran with it, making some good throws in team sessions, including hitting Van Jefferson for a long touchdown on a beautiful throw.
While there was plenty of talk this offseason about Wilson being in the pole position as QB1 and entering training camp as the starter, Fields had the right mindset all along that he was going to be prepared, take advantage of every rep he gets, and not get comfortable that he’d be potentially sitting on the bench all season.
That mindset paid off on Thursday and has opened some eyes, at least on the national level.
We’ll see just how long Wilson is out and what that could mean for Fields, but the most important thing is that opportunity knocked and Fields answered in a strong way.
