Player: QB Justin Fields
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: While his snaps have not gone perfectly, the fact is Justin Fields is seeing snaps. For a backup quarterback to log seven offensive, non-injury snaps, that tells you something. The Steelers want to make use of Fields, and he’s only likely to continue to play as much or more. At least that’s what it sounds like.
We have all read the reports about how much the Steelers love Justin Fields. We have also watched Russell Wilson look like a lame duck in the backfield at the first sign of pressure. What the Steelers really want is to slap Fields’ legs on Wilson’s body.
Short of that, however, they have to actually put Justin Fields out there to make use of his skills. And over the past two games, they have begun to do that, delayed only due to injury and game circumstances. Now that the cat’s out of the bag, one wonders how far they will push it.
After logging three snaps against the Ravens, Fields played seven in Cleveland. And that included multiple stretches of consecutive snaps, as well as red-zone work. The Steelers even allowed Fields to attempt a critical third-down pass down the field. Granted, it didn’t work, but it speaks to how much they value the package.
Alternatively, that throw could have been a wake-up call to the Steelers. Perhaps it made them realize that they are asking too much from Fields and from this package. They have faced a lot of criticism for putting Fields in that position, on the road and in bad weather. And they deserved that criticism, equally for taking Wilson off the field after throwing a 23-yard touchdown pass for the lead.
On the whole, though, I see the Steelers going with more Justin Fields after the past week rather than less. They obviously like what he brings in terms of his mobility. If they hadn’t wanted to see Russell Wilson starting so badly, Fields might still be starting. And by keeping him in the game in this package, they get a chance to continue evaluating him.
As the season progresses, Steelers players’ stocks rise and fall. The nature of the evaluation differs with the time of year, with in-season considerations being more often short-term. Considerations in the offseason often have broader implications, particularly when players lose their jobs, or the team signs someone. This time of year is full of transactions, whether minor or major.
A bad game, a new contract, an injury, a promotion—any number of things affect a player’s value. Think of it as a stock on the market, based on speculation. You’ll feel better about a player after a good game, or worse after a bad one. Some stock updates are minor, while others are likely to be quite drastic, so bear in mind the degree. I’ll do my best to explain the nature of that in the reasoning section of each column.
