The Pittsburgh Steelers traded a conditional draft pick to the Chicago Bears for quarterback Justin Fields shortly after signing Russell Wilson. They intended to hold a quarterback competition for their vacant job. However, a calf injury sidelined Wilson, paving the way for Fields to become the starter. Across six games, the Steelers went 4-2, with the young quarterback accounting for 10 total touchdowns and only one interception. However, head coach Mike Tomlin opted to replace him with Wilson in week seven and kept it that way the rest of the year.
After going 4-1 in his first five starts, the former Pro Bowler finished 2-5 down the stretch, capped by an ugly performance in the playoffs against Baltimore. Rumors persisted that many in the locker room weren’t happy that Fields was benched and wanted him re-inserted. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Pittsburgh intended to rectify this mistake by bringing Fields back. However, that decision came back to bite them in the end as the quarterback opted to take a deal with the New York Jets.
Justin Fields taught the Steelers an important lesson.
Don’t expect to toy with a player’s emotions and not face consequences. Justin Fields had every right to feel slighted after playing well through those first six games. Benching him was one thing, but keeping Wilson in after he started struggling in December was confirmation that Pittsburgh never really gave him a fair chance. Wilson had always been the guy they intended to start. Fields was merely insurance. Now the Steelers are left in the lurch. They have no clear starting quarterback, and their best hope is pursuing a 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers, who, by all accounts, isn’t overly enthusiastic about playing for them. They’re in no position to draft anybody. For all the talk about the Steelers being a destination, it sure looks like they’ve lost some of their aura.
