Justin Fields hasn’t been the player some evaluators expected him to be when he entered the NFL. Despite being drafted in the first round in 2021, he hasn’t developed into a franchise quarterback. However, with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he’s looked decent. He’s cut down on his mistakes, while also improving as a passer. Former NFL running back LeSean McCoy doesn’t believe Fields has locked up the starting job though.
“The way I watch the Steelers play, and the way I know he plays, I just think that he’s never gonna do enough to wow us, [make us say], ‘he deserves to have this spot no matter what.’ Because that’s not the way he plays,” McCoy said Friday on FS1’s The Facility. “I think the way the Steelers are running their offense with him, it’s pretty safe. I think lately you’re starting to see them open it up a little bit due to them being down.”
It’s hard to make an argument for what McCoy is saying because you could argue that Fields has already wowed people. He hasn’t had the highlights running the ball like he did with the Chicago Bears, but the Steelers haven’t asked him to do that. They want to be a run-first team on offense.
Even when they have executed that game plan, Fields has still managed to make several impressive throws. He’s had an excellent deep ball connection with George Pickens. Compared to what the Steelers have had at quarterback, that should wow people.
During that same segment, McCoy went on to explain more of what he sees from Fields.
“The way he plays is, go out there, don’t make any mistakes, don’t turn the ball over, we’re gonna play great defense, we’re gonna get to the quarterback, stop the run. We’re gonna run the ball a lot and keep it a safe game. The way he plays, he’s not taking over the quarterback job. I think he’s winning it, but he’s not taking that job.”
It’s true that Fields hasn’t been overwhelmingly good to the point where the job is certainly his. He hasn’t been put into situations to show those kinds of skills though. Really, what’s earned him the job is his ability to execute the game plan at a high level. The Steelers aren’t asking him to take over. They’re asking him to not lose them games, and even then, he’s surpassing expectations.
Fields isn’t Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson. If he was, he wouldn’t be with the Steelers right now. Pittsburgh knew he would be a project, and they’re probably pleasantly surprised at how well he has played. He’s been better than he was with the Bears. You still can’t say for sure that he’ll be the starter when Russell Wilson is healthy, but it feels like he’s got pole position at the moment.
We’ll see what happens this week against the Dallas Cowboys. McCoy would be correct if he said Fields can still lose the job. Mike Tomlin hasn’t committed to him yet, so if he falters under the lights against the Cowboys, Wilson’s chances could improve. However, even in a loss last week, Fields looked great. It would take a total collapse to really hurt his standing.
