The Pittsburgh Steelers won with quarterback Justin Fields, going 4-2 over the first six weeks of the season. But then they won without him, routing the New York Jets in Week 7 after bumping Fields from the starting lineup in favor of Russell Wilson.
Fields has said all the right things publicly, taking blame for his benching by stating outright that he would have kept the job had he played better.
However, Fields accounted for 10 combined TDs against just 1 INT through six games. He's in the final year of his rookie contract and bound for free agency in March if he doesn't ink an extension with the Steelers before then. There is no question Fields wants to get back into the action at some point during this year and prove himself worthy of a strong, multiyear deal in what should be a relatively weak free-agent market at the QB position in 2025.
The spurned Steelers signal caller seemed to acknowledge his anxiousness to return to a starting role via a post to his Instagram story on Friday, Oct. 25.
Fields on IG: "Patiently Waiting!!!" #Steelers#NFLpic.twitter.com/h2eMhGW8O3
— Steelers Depot 7 (@Steelersdepot) October 25, 2024
"PATIENTLY WAITING!!!" Fields captioned the photo of himself.
What Fields meant exactly is up for interpretation. He could be waiting for another chance in Pittsburgh should Wilson perhaps fail or suffer injury. He could be waiting to hit free agency and sign a one-year prove-it deal somewhere in the NFL, like Sam Darnold did with the Minnesota Vikings last offseason.
Or, Fields could be waiting for a team to make a call to the Steelers ahead of the November 5 trade deadline.
It appears that Wilson, who began the season with a calf injury, is now the firm starter in Pittsburgh and will remain so for the rest of the year as long as he stays healthy. The Steelers, 5-2 and legitimate contenders in the AFC, may decide that holding onto Fields as a safety net is the correct move because of the importance of the QB position and his relative success in their system thus far.
But, Pittsburgh is also expected to try and deal for a wide receiver over the next week and a half. Fields could potentially be the centerpiece of such a trade, depending on the team in question, which might allow the Steelers to get better this year without sacrificing significant draft capital in 2025.
Pittsburgh may also decide that it wants to pursue a quarterback in next year's draft to play behind/learn under Wilson, or even compete with him. In that case, getting a mid-round pick back for Fields now will help stock the coffers if the Steelers decide they need to move up in the first round to draft a rookie signal caller.
