QB Justin Fields started the first six games of the Pittsburgh Steelers season in 2024. You can certainly make the argument that he didn’t blow anyone away. If he had, head coach Mike Tomlin may have kept him as the starter in Week 7.
But the real question is, did the Steelers ever give him a real shot to shine? Or did they mostly keep him under wraps as more of a game manager? And if that’s true, would Justin Fields want to return in 2025?
Would Tomlin and the Steelers change anything for him to open up the offense? Insider Mark Kaboly was asked that Friday when he joined the PM Team on 93.7 The Fan. He certainly sees that as a valid point, but he isn’t willing to slam the door on changes happening, either.
“What would suggest, what has he done in those first six games to suggest he would do that?” said Kaboly. “However, they might have a better feel on him right now where they can trust him a little bit more, maybe through all of offseason, training camp, all that stuff. Maybe they do feel more comfortable with him, what they saw last year, and what they would see this year that he would be allowed to do that. That’s the only hope.”
We know that Fields did show improvement from the first day he stepped on the field in Latrobe for training camp. When Wilson suffered the calf injury, the entire dynamic changed for Fields and the Steelers. And Fields responded, improving his footwork and consequently his on-field play.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Justin Fields had the best completion percentage in his career, 65.8 percent. And sure, you can argue it’s because the Steelers ran a more game-manager-style offense for him. But he also completed 78.1 percent of his passes on 32 attempts against the Los Angeles Chargers.
So you can point to Justin Fields responding well when he did have a chance to throw the ball more. And if Fields kept working hard during practice as it appears he did, perhaps the Steelers will allow him to throw the ball a bit more if he returns in 2025. They also need to surround him (or whichever quarterback is under center in 2025) with better receiving options.
Otherwise, Fields may not want to come back if Tomlin and company want to just run things back exactly like they did last year. The Steelers may have their questions about Justin Fields’ potential. It sounds like Art Rooney II prefers Russell Wilson as the team’s quarterback in 2025. So maybe it’s a moot point.
But if the Steelers decide they want Justin Fields back, he should have his own questions for the team as Jeff Hathhorn said earlier this offseason. And it all starts with how the Steelers want to run their offense.
