When he was drafted 11th overall in 2021, lofty expectations were heaped onto Justin Fields’ shoulders. Barely old enough to order a beer at a bar, Fields was expected a turn around a struggling Chicago Bears roster. For a variety of reasons, some of them due to Fields himself, things didn’t work out. He looked much better with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024 but still had to deal with getting benched after six weeks. Despite all of that, he’s remained professional. Rich Eisen is taking notice of that.
“Let me say this about Justin Fields,” Eisen said, via The Rich Eisen Show on Tuesday. “He has kept his mouth shut. In Chicago, and in Pittsburgh, he hasn’t said a single thing. And he has handled himself with the utmost of professionalism in that regard. He has one million percent taken all of this in as best of stride, publicly, as anyone possibly can.”
That’s some high praise from Eisen, but it’s for good reason. Fields was immediately placed into a tough situation as a young quarterback with the Bears. He had no consistency on the coaching staff, and although some decent weapons were placed around him, he never really had a chance to grow. Even Caleb Williams, the first overall pick in 2024, had similar struggles in his rookie year in the same organization.
That’s part of the reason the Steelers only had to give up a conditional sixth-round draft pick to trade for Fields. He got a chance to start the first six games and made serious progress. Fields won four of them and looked much more composed while doing so. Then, he was benched in favor of Russell Wilson.
Justin Fields has had plenty to gripe about during his time in the NFL. Instead, he’s never said a peep. Fields is a model professional, and that’s earning him a lot of credit from the NFL world, including Eisen.
As for his future with the Steelers, things should become clear soon. Free agency is right around the corner. The quarterback position is one of, if not the first thing, the Steelers want to take care of this offseason. With that in mind, we’ll learn of Fields’ NFL future in no time.
However, the Steelers likely won’t be the only team in on Fields if he tests free agency. With his impressive performance in six games in 2024, Fields has made himself much more attractive. If he remains in Pittsburgh, Eisen does think he can keep the Steelers above the .500 mark, extending Mike Tomlin’s 18-year streak of non-losing seasons.
“Sure, I’ll buy that, I’ll say yay to that, not an overreaction,” Eisen said.
