Steelers A to Z: Justin Fields’ career at a crossroads as he arrives in Pittsburgh

Chris Adamski
Monday, June 24, 2024 6:01 a.m. | Monday, June 24, 2024 6:01 a.m.

Chaz Palla | TribLive

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields throws during an organized team activities session earlier this month at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. A former first-round pick of the Chicago Bears, Fields was traded to the Steelers in March.

Editor’s note: From now until the first practice of training camp at Saint Vincent College, TribLive is running through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 90-man roster, looking at each player and assessing his outlook for the 2024 season. The breakdown will run in alphabetical order with at least two players each day between June 14 and July 25. Contract data courtesy spotrac.com.

QB JUSTIN FIELDS

Experience/age: 4^th season, 25

Contract status: $3.23 million cap hit in 2024, scheduled for unrestricted free agency this coming spring

The past: What is the true evaluation of Justin Fields’ career prospects as a quarterback? A case could be made that the only reason the Chicago Bears decided to move on from him is that they had a once-in-a-generation opportunity to draft a transcendent quarterback and couldn’t pass it up. We might never know if the Bears would have rode again with Fields in 2024 (and/or even picked up his option for 2025) if they hadn’t been gifted the 2024 No. 1 overall pick after a March 2023 trade with the dreadful Carolina Panthers. The Bears simply couldn’t pass up on USC quarterback Caleb Williams — otherwise, maybe Fields enters his fourth year as Chicago’s starter this fall and blossoms into the franchise QB that many saw his raw talent makes his destiny.

But to assume a Fields ascension to stardom ignores his passing statistics (and win/loss record, 10-28) over his first three seasons since he was the No. 11 overall pick in 2021. It also ignores the marketplace that dictated that none of the other 30 teams in the NFL were apparently willing to give up much more than the conditional sixth-round pick the Steelers submitted to the Bears in March for him. Fields has finished 28^th, 25^th and 22^nd among qualified passers in the NFL in passer rating (respectively) his first three seasons. He’s been last, 16^th and 24^th in QBR. Annually near the bottom of Pro Football Focus grades for QBs, too.

In yards per attempt, Fields has finished 22^nd, 16^th and 22^nd. Completion percentage? 30^th, 31^st and 29^th. Most damning, he’s been dead last, dead last and third-from-last in sack percentage.

Much of that does not tell the full story of Fields, of course. He has been one of the best, most productive and dynamic running quarterbacks in NFL history. But is that enough?

“I told him where I wanted to be, and this was a place I wanted to be,” Justin Fields said about talking to Bears GM Ryan Poles when he made his first public comments since the trade. “He honored that, and I appreciate him for that ... .”@tribjoerutter https://t.co/1b4nA5k3Yv

— Tribune-Review Sports (@TribSports) May 21, 2024

2024 outlook: The low acquisition cost made the Steelers’ decision to trade for Fields a no-brainer, particularly in the wake of Kenny Pickett letting it be known he wanted out. Fields’ passing numbers were roughly on par with Pickett’s over the past two seasons, which is to say, “not too good.”

The draft pick the Steelers owe the Bears for Fields becomes a fourth-rounder if Fields plays more than half of the offensive snaps this season. For that to happen, it likely means Russell Wilson either has suffered a significant injury or is playing poorly. While some have characterized the summer and upcoming training camp as a QB competition — coach Mike Tomlin terms it as Wilson being in “pole position” — there was no outward indication that Fields was getting any first-team reps at any point over organized team activities or minicamp.

There has been plenty of chatter about new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith designing special packages specifically for Fields. It would not be surprising to see that come to fruition. But Wilson’s track record and 2023 performance each dwarf anything Fields has shown as a pro so far, so don’t expect Tomlin to pull the plug on Wilson in favor of Fields too quickly.

Wilson turns 36 in November, so even in the best-case that he rediscovers his Pro Bowl form with the Steelers he is not a longer-term answer for the organization at quarterback. But if Wilson succeeds in 2024, rest assured he will be back in 2025. That leaves a narrow needle for Fields to thread to end up as the Steelers’ quarterback of the future.

Still, it’s well worth the shot for the organization. Fields is a low-risk, high-ceiling acquisition. Time will tell how this season plays out.

Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.