After the Steelers’ Sunday game in Las Vegas, we will already be one third the way through the 2024 regular season. With Justin Fields on track to start, he is rapidly approaching the 51-percent condition on his trade that would flip the 2025 sixth-round pick the Steelers owe the Bears into a fourth. With Russell Wilson finally healthy, the pressure is on Fields to state his final case for the permanent QB1 job.
Mike Tomlin announced that Fields would be preparing as the starter with Wilson running second-team offense for the week to see how his body responds to full practices. It seems very likely that Fields will be the starter in Week 6, but if Wilson is active instead of being the emergency third quarterback, then the Steelers can conceivably make the switch at any time in a game if Fields and the offense continue to struggle. Wilson remains QB1 on the depth chart, after all.
“Each week, Tomlin has had an opportunity to slam the door on any of this chatter, and he has not done that,” ESPN’s Kimberley A. Martin said on Get Up this morning. “Whether it’s this week or not, it’s on Justin Fields from the beginning. Justin Fields can slam that door for good. But Justin Fields, though he’s played well at times, he hasn’t given you that consistent wow of, ‘This is the man we’re gonna ride into the sunset.’ ”
Fields has mostly been good, and he has largely eliminated the turnover issues that plagued him in Chicago. The only problem is, the offense has been starting way too slow and not scoring enough points. The Steelers’ offense is putting up just 18.4 points per game, which is the seventh-worst mark in the league.
The lack of turnovers is good, but you would think a lack of turnovers would naturally lead to a better performance in the scoring column. That has not been the case.
Through five games, Fields has completed 92 of his 136 attempts for 961 yards, five touchdowns, and an interception. His 67.6 completion percentage is a career high at the moment, and his interception percentage is a career low. He has also rushed 44 times for 172 yards and three touchdowns. The eight touchdowns he has been a part of is pretty strong considering what the Steelers got from Kenny Pickett last year, but it obviously hasn’t been enough.
If Fields can have another performance like his second half in Indianapolis, he could put an exclamation point on his case to be the permanent starter. With him being a decade younger and offering a potential future for the franchise, it would only make sense to continue with Fields to at least have as much data possible when it comes time to hand out a contract next March.
