Steelers Considering Shocking Position Change for Justin Fields
The Chicago Bears officially ended the Justin Fields Era this offseason by trading him to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now the former Bears starter will have to earn a role in Pittsburgh with veteran Russell Wilson in front of him on the depth chart.
However, it turns out the Steelers could get Fields playing time in a different way if Wilson earns the QB1 job.
#Steelers RB Jaylen Warren says their special teams coordinator discussed the possibility of having Justin Fields return kicks under the new kickoff rules.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) May 2, 2024
(via @NotJustFootball)pic.twitter.com/N4WGMwETxV
During a live recording for teammate Cameron Heyward's podcast, Pittsburgh running back Jayen Warren dropped a bombshell on a potential new role for Fields. Warren says that Steelers special teames coordinator Danny Smith "was talking about Justin Fields being back there" when discussing the league's new kickoff return rules.
Now, this is truly shocking. Yes, Fields is a prolific threat with the ball in his hands. His 1,100 rushing yards in 2021 while also being under center in Chicago certainly showed that.
Yet, almost no other team in the league would consider putting a possible franchise quarterback in harm's way like that. Even if Fields enters 2024 as Wilson's backup, that's still an extremely important job that any real contender wouldn't take any chances with.
Perhaps this speaks to the Steelers' desperation to get a scoring spark, or they're simply trying to maximize the value from the Fields trade. But the fact this was even brought up doesn't signal great things for Fields, who surely wants to get back to starting as a quarterback.
In other Bears news:
feed