Justin Fields has long had a fan in Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. While Tomlin did not exactly pounce on the first opportunity to acquire him, he has Fields now. All involved are trying to make the most of it, the young quarterback dedicated to strengthening his weaknesses.
“He’s really focused so much energy and attention on his footwork in the pocket, playing with a base, working through progressions quickly, being accurate with the ball in the pocket”, new Steelers quarterbacks coach Tom Arth said of Justin Fields, via Mike DeFabo of The Athletic. “All of those things, you kind of saw them starting to take shape in OTAs and minicamp. These last couple of weeks, they have been so impressive to me, to really see [Fields’] growth and development as a quarterback”.
A first-round pick out of Ohio State in 2021, Justin Fields has impressed with his talent but not his record. He is 10-28 as a starter, playing his first three seasons with the Chicago Bears. When they gained the first-overall pick this offseason, they determined to draft QB Caleb Williams and move on from Fields.
Trading him proved not to be as easy as many thought it might be, however. While the Bears reportedly turned down better offers, they ultimately netted just a conditional 2025 sixth-round pick from the Steelers for Fields.
A superior athlete at the quarterback position, Fields never fully developed in some key areas. He would be the first to admit that he relied too much on his athletic abilities in the past, and he is trying to escape that.
Of course, we saw some of the same problems in his preseason debut that followed him from Chicago. Though there is blame to share, he took two sacks on possession downs and botched two center exchanges.
Despite the flaws in his performance, many do believe Justin Fields has acquitted himself well over the past few weeks. He has only performed better and better as camp has gone on, and some earlier skeptics are turning open-minded. Even Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette mused that perhaps this really is a competition.
Fields had plenty of opportunity to gain ground with Russell Wilson limited due to a calf injury. We don’t know if Wilson will play in the second preseason game, but Fields should play a lot regardless. He only got a couple drives in the first game, but the Steelers want to see more.
I think they will be even more eager for the second game, in fact. The Steelers will want to see how Fields adjusts from the issues he ran into last week, and he will need to play a good amount in order for them to judge that.
