The Pittsburgh Steelers acquired two starting caliber quarterbacks this offseason: Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. They both struggled with their former teams. Wilson, who had success early in his career, could not replicate it with the Denver Broncos. Fields, however, seems to have been doomed from the start with the Chicago Bears. Now, the Steelers have their work cut out for them.
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Steelers' Russell Wilson (3) and Justin Fields (2).
Thanks to his incredible athletic abilities, Fields caught the attention of NFL scouts. His struggle in Chicago appears to have been caused by a dysfunctional franchise that failed to develop Fields. He is hungry for success, but during his time in the Windy City, he wasn't put in a position to succeed.
Some factors sound familiar: lackluster play-calling, a weak offensive line, and inconsistent weapons. Despite all of that, Fields has shown flashes of brilliance. The raw talent is there, but can it be crafted into consistent success? Former Steelers safety turned analyst, Ryan Clark has been very vocal about his belief that Fields will be the starter before the season is out. He recently said on an edition of ESPN's Get Up that part of what they have to do is a damage assessment.
"We gotta figure out not just if this dude can lead our team now, but if he can be our franchise quarterback for the next decade. All of the talent is there, but I do believe we are going to have to psychologically assess what being in Chicago did to him. Can he process? Does he overthink? Is he trying to figure out a way? Will the next mistake be my last mistake? Because that's the only way we know who Justin Fields can be. We can't figure that out while he's on the bench."
Clark's concern is that Wilson won't perform poorly enough to lose his job. The Steelers will be a mid-level team, with Head Coach Mike Tomlin maintaining his winning record, but not good enough to win playoff games.
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Steelers' Mike Tomlin.
Both of these quarterbacks are on one-year contracts in Pittsburgh, and the Steelers will have to make decisions about what to do going forward. If Fields doesn't get an opportunity to start in the black and gold, it will be challenging to know exactly what his ceiling really is. Clark believes that Tomlin is making the right decision to start Wilson, but thinks he should be on a very short leash.
"We aren't going to see Justin Fields do some of the things I think that can put him over the top of Russell Wilson, which is using his legs, be able to improv, push the football down the field, because Russell Wilson will be getting those number one reps. So to me, the decision becomes, if we're in the middle of the season, and we're a middle of the pack team, and Russell Wilson is just playing ok, or just playing good football, do you look at the upside of Justin Fields? Do you look at what he can do with the arm strength, what he can do with his legs, the power he has in the red zone and think, 'We gotta take a chance on him.'"
During his first three seasons in the league, Fields had a completion percentage of 60.3% for 6,674 yards and 40 touchdowns with 30 interceptions. He had another 14 rushing touchdowns. The Steelers must help Fields develop his passing game to match his rushing abilities.
Does Steelers' Justin Fields Just Need Time?
While Clark is not alone in his opinion about Fields, Wilson does have his supporters. Many analysts believe that for the Steelers to help Fields get his career back on track, he needs time to grow and opportunities to develop. They think that for the 2024 season, the Steelers will lean entirely on Wilson and allow Fields to learn from a quarterback who knows what it takes to have the ultimate success in the league.
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Steelers' Justin Fields watches Russell Wilson throw the ball.
There is an additional division among those who think that Fields should be used for special packages, something similar to what was done with Taysom Hill, and those who think the Steelers will never do that. While Pittsburgh has been known to run a trick play or two, this would be beyond a little razzle-dazzle.
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