Steelers’ Justin Fields Slammed For Sabotaging Teammates' Careers Due To Fumble Struggles

The Pittsburgh Steelers made a significant move this offseason, trading for former Chicago Bears first-round pick, quarterback Justin Fields. Despite being in the league for three seasons, Fields has struggled to solidify his status as a franchise quarterback, which is why the Steelers were able to acquire him without giving up much. He is expected to back up Russell Wilson, the team’s new and current starting quarterback. While Wilson is the favorite to be the starter, Fields has a legit chance to win the job.

Wilson is anticipated to be the starter, but has missed time in training camp due to a sore calf. This has given Fields additional opportunities to impress the Steelers' coaching staff. In their first preseason game against the Houston Texans, Steelers fans got their first glimpse of Fields in action.

During his limited time on the field, Fields fumbled the football twice. These turnovers resulted from miscommunications between Fields and center Nate Herbig. Regardless of who was at fault, the stats reflect two fumbles for Fields. Former NFL player and current analyst Bart Scott discussed on Get Up why he believes Fields may be unintentionally putting his offensive linemen in tough situations, drawing comparisons to the struggles of former quarterback Tim Tebow.

"This guy continuously burps the baby," Scott said. "I hate for my friend Tim Tebow to take strays, but that reminds me of Tim Tebow in practice. You just can't do that. When a play breaks down, you burp the baby like that. You put the offensive tackles in a bind. Guys give up sacks and they're losing their career basically because you're burping the baby back there."

Tebow was a dominant college quarterback and one of the best in history, but his transition to the NFL was a struggle. Scott believes Fields and Tebow share similar issues. 

Although Fields has impressed NFL fans with his dual-threat capability, athleticism, and some standout passes, Scott argues that, like Tebow, Fields lacks the ability to throw receivers open. This puts added pressure on the offensive line, making it harder for them to protect Fields from getting hit.

“It reminds me of Tim Tebow. We talk about burping the baby and how long it takes you to process. Waiting until a receiver's open in the NFL, you have to throw the receivers open in anticipation. He doesn't throw in process with great anticipation, which causes his offensive line protection to breakdown, which causes him to kind of scatter within the pocket.”

Fields has passed for 40 touchdowns in his three seasons, but he's also thrown 30 interceptions, a concerning ratio that underscores the issues Scott mentioned. In addition to the interceptions, Fields has fumbled the ball 38 times, adding to the concerns about his decision-making and ball security.

"Ball security, job security, 38 fumbles since entering the NFL, it's five more than any other player. It's not acceptable."

In the Steelers' 20-12 loss to the Texans, Fields got the ball out quickly, but the two botched snaps raised concerns. Both Fields and Herbig accepted responsibility, with Head Coach Mike Tomlin noting that the issue is on both players and needs to be addressed. Fields completed five of six passes for 67 yards— it's hard to truly assess how Fields played in his debut because of the limited action. However, he had some exciting moments. 

Steelers' Mike Tomlin Won't Put Up With Justin Fields Turning Over The Football

Fields has some red flags to address if he wants to become the franchise quarterback in Pittsburgh. Whether the Tebow comparison is fair or not, 38 fumbles in a short career is alarming, and Tomlin won’t tolerate turnovers. The Steelers make a big effort to limit turnovers and having a quarterback who gives up plenty of them could be a big concern.

Fields will need to focus on ball security. Steelers fans are eager to see both Wilson and Fields in action during the second preseason game against the Buffalo Bills on Saturday. Tomlin stated that he's not certain who's going to start against the Bills.

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