Whether he ever starts another game for them, QB Justin Fields knows the Pittsburgh Steelers love him. They acquired him via trade with an eye toward the future rather than the present. Thanks to Russell Wilson’s calf injury, they got a glimpse of his potential future, including a 4-2 start.
Even if Fields is heading for the bench, everyone around him wants to make sure he is holding his head up high, proud of what he showed. He may be hard on himself, but Thursday showed overwhelmingly that he has the support of his teammates and coaches. And he knows that.
“It’s been great”, Fields said about the support others have shown him this week, via the Steelers’ website. “I’m close with a lot of the guys, and everybody in the locker room is very supportive of each other. We all love each other. Everybody in locker room has been great, for sure”.
RB Najee Harris is just one example of how teammates have lifted Justin Fields up. “We got your back”, he made sure he said during his own media availability, saying he was proud of him. Many also read into OC Arthur Smith’s comments, believing that he is not in favor of making a quarterback change.
Both behind the scenes and in front of the camera, Arthur Smith and Justin Fields do seem to have built a strong working and personal relationship. While they haven’t been perfect together, they have been making progress. Even still, Russell Wilson has always been in the picture every step of the way, as both of them know.
Of Smith, Fields said, “He just pushed me every day to get better as a quarterback, developmental-wise, really, just a person too. I love Arthur. He knows that. Glad that he’s our OC”.
The interesting wrinkle is, of course, the fact that Justin Fields is a free agent after the season. If the Steelers want to keep him, they will have to sign him before free agency or compete with the market. I think we can reasonably say that he has already raised his value going into next year. It may even do him a big favor if he doesn’t have to start another game this season.
Selected 11th overall by the Chicago Bears in the 2021 NFL Draft, Justin Fields only experienced 10 wins over three years in the NFC North. In just six games since coming to the Steelers, he has added four to his career total. He has thrown for five touchdowns, running for five more, while only turning the ball over twice. Posting career highs in stats like completion percentage, all seem to agree that he is playing the best of his career.
But will he play for the Steelers in 2025, or somewhere else? Obviously, a lot of that depends on what happens over the next few months. If Russell Wilson starts and he looks great, they will want to keep riding with him. Even then, they might still want to keep Justin Fields around, but then it becomes about price. And they weren’t willing to pay much for him this year.
