Pittsburgh Steelers QB Justin Fields Might Actually Win Starting Job

When the Pittsburgh Steelers acquired Justin Fields via a trade with the Chicago Bears this offseason, many thought the move was made to develop the young quarterback behind Russell Wilson. However, that may not end up being the case. Even though Wilson will open training camp as the team’s starting quarterback, that could change.

At this point in time, the Steelers view the quarterback battle as a true competition. Wilson will have to earn the starting job and Fields will be given an opportunity to show that he should win it as well.

NFL Network analyst and former NFL quarterback David Carr believes that Fields has a real shot at winning the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starting job this season.

“I think it’s a real competition because you don’t necessarily [know] where Justin Fields is at, like where his headspace is. How does he feel coming into this thing? If we get the physical dominant athlete that we’ve seen with Justin, I really believe he has some untapped potential as far as throwing the football. I think that in this Arthur Smith offense, the ability of Russ, the experience, I don’t know it it necessarily matters as much as maybe it would somewhere else on other teams.”

Taking A Look At The Pittsburgh Steelers’ QB Competition

Russell Wilson is clearly the favorite to win the Week 1 starting job. He is coming off of a solid season with the Denver Broncos in 2023 and was a high priority signing. Also, he got along very well with head coach Mike Tomlin in his free agency meeting with the team.

Despite those facts, the Pittsburgh Steelers did not pull off a trade for Fields without thinking that he had legitimate starting potential. Clearly, they believe that he has a bright future ahead of him, or they would have just kept Kenny Pickett to develop behind Wilson.

At times, Fields has shown flashes of big-time potential. It’s unfair to judge him completely based off of his tenure with the Bears. No quarterback has found success for a long time in Chicago and the offensive line during his time with the team was pitiful.

Fields has the better dual-threat ability for the Pittsburgh Steelers at this stage of his career when compared with Wilson. He has arm strength on his side as well. Where he seems to lack is in decision-making and field vision.

If Fields has been able to develop his game this offseason in those two main areas, he’s going to take a big leap forward from a developmental perspective. That would make the quarterback competition much more interesting.

In addition to those points, Wilson has had major ups and downs over the last few years. Should the Pittsburgh Steelers start the 2024 season slow, turning to Fields would make sense. They have two new quarterbacks that they are high on and will not shy away from making a change if things aren’t working.

All things being considered, it’s not far-fetched to think that Justin Fields has a legitimate chance to be the Steelers’ starting quarterback. It’s going to be an interesting competition to watch, but it’s a great situation for Fields to be in and all the pressure is on Wilson to perform at a consistent high level.

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