The Pittsburgh Steelers had many eyes on the quarterback battle between Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. Ultimately, Wilson came out as the victor and will be under center when the Steelers face the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1.
But Fields isn't completely out of Pittsburgh's head. The team is relying on Wilson to right the ship. But if things go wrong, the Steelers believe Fields has made plenty of strides to step in and start, via Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated.
“This isn’t anyone’s first rodeo in Pittsburgh, and Fields took some fundamental changes that the offensive coaches gave him (one being a return to the type of footwork he’d used at Ohio State), and really worked on them over the past few weeks of camp,” Breer wrote. “It was enough to have some folks internally push for Fields to start. There was, too, plenty of merit to the idea. But the way it is now, again, to give yourself two shots, also makes plenty of sense.”
“And if that leads Fields to starting in Week 5 or 8 or 12, I wouldn't be surprised.”
The past two seasons, head coach Mike Tomlin made some quarterback changes throughout the campaign. This was something he hadn't really done when Ben Roethlisberger when he was under center in Pittsburgh. The carousel of Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph hasn't done too well, compared to what the Steelers are used to. They went 9-8 in 2022 and 10-7 in 2023, respectively.
Russell Wilson is fully solidified as the Steelers starter entering the campaign. But if Pittsburgh's plan doesn't work, Fields offers an entirely different dynamic at quarterback.
Could the Steelers succeed with Justin Fields?
Fields was the by-product of a bad environment with the Chicago Bears. A bottom-ranked offensive line, along with a subpar receiving corps didn't help his case. When Fields worked with a dynamic receiver like DJ Moore, he flourished.
He ended the season with career-highs in passing yards and average yards per attempt. While Fields was knocked for ball security, he had career-lows in interceptions and fumbles. Even with all the talk surrounding the Bears picking Caleb Williams, the former Ohio State Buckeye stuck through.
Fast forward to the offseason, Fields is now with one of the most established coaching staffs in the entire league. Tomlin has seen his fair share of success with the Steelers. He helped the Steelers win the 2008 Super Bowl and never having a season with a record below .500. Although Tomlin is a defensive savant, he knows that a good offense is critical to heading back to prominence. Tomlin, along with teammates, saw what Fields could do during first-team reps in place of an injured Russell Wilson.
As Fields continues to work on the little things, his moment could come sooner, rather than later.
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