The Pittsburgh Steelers made their decision about who will lead their offense to start the 2024 NFL season. Veteran Russell Wilson, as expected, is the Steelers’ starting quarterback for Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons. That means Justin Fields will be the backup quarterback.
The Steelers have talked about potentially getting Fields on the field versus the Falcons. Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith was coy about the specifics but didn’t rule anything out.
But could this quarterback decision have been just as much about Fields’ long-term development as Wilson’s short-term veteran leadership? That’s exactly what Kay Adams suggested Thursday on Up & Adams, and she’s not the only one.
“If you’re planning on making Justin your quarterback of the future, why would you start that timeline before it’s ready for it to start?” Matt Simms asked on Friday’s episode of Simms Complete on Bleav’s YouTube channel. “So don’t start it. If he’s not ready, don’t do it. Because as soon as it starts, that’s where the criticism and the critique and all the second-guessing comes into play.”
That’s the question the Steelers had to answer this summer: Is Fields ready to start for Pittsburgh? He got the unexpected opportunity to get the lion’s share of the first-team reps thanks to Wilson’s unfortunate calf strain. And Fields took the opportunity to improve his game and impress the coaching staff.
It wasn’t enough to prove that Fields should be the Week 1 starter, but he might never have had a genuine opportunity to do so. Regardless, the growth he showed may give the Steelers confidence in him long-term.
And that might be one of the most important developments of the summer for Pittsburgh. The Steelers have no quarterback under contract after 2024. They’re hoping that either Wilson or Fields (or even both of them) prove worthy of a second contract in Pittsburgh. And Fields impressed head coach Mike Tomlin, showing Tomlin that he was even more dynamic than expected.
But the Steelers could have potentially jeopardized that if they decided to roll the dice on starting Fields Week 1. Former NFL QB Robert Griffin III thinks that Fields’ career would be torpedoed if he was named the starting quarterback and failed. And that’s what concerned Simms.
The Chicago Bears didn’t give Fields an easy entrance into the league. He started his first NFL game only three weeks into his rookie season, and he was sacked nine times. Not a debut anyone wants.
Fields had the pressure of being a first-round quarterback and the pressure of trying to be the quarterback savior of the Bears. There were a ton of expectations on him and not a ton of help early in his career. So why would the Steelers want to do that to him a second time?
Now Fields can sit without much pressure and continue to improve as a quarterback. He might even see the field in Week 1. But he won’t have the pressure of being the starting quarterback.
And maybe that could be a key development in Fields’ progression as an NFL quarterback.
