Newly acquired Steelers quarterback Justin Fields will get the chance to learn under nine-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion Russell Wilson in Pittsburgh. It could be just what Fields needs to get his career on track after a trying three-year tenure with the Chicago Bears that consisted of two head coaches and three offensive coordinators.
Shortly after the trade was announced, Wilson welcomed Fields to Pittsburgh on social media.
“Let’s get it @justnfields! QB room bout to be ? ? ?,” Wilson wrote on X.
It turns out that Wilson is a player that Fields always admired. Gene Chamberlain of Bears Digest noted that Fields once told the Chicago media that he tried to pattern his play after Wilson.
“I would say when I was younger, like maybe eighth, ninth grade, it was more Cam Newton,” Fields said a day after he was drafted. “But I would say these past couple years I’ve kind of turned more to a Russell Wilson-type quarterback.
“I’ve watched a lot of film on him. I’ve watched a lot of highlights on him, so I think the things that we can do on the field with both of those quarterbacks, I think we have a lot of similarities between extending plays with our legs and also having the arm talent.”
Fields took a small step forward in 2023, his third year as Chicago’s starting quarterback. The Ohio State alum threw 370 times, completing 227 for 2,562 yards and 16 touchdowns. He threw nine interceptions and maintained an 86.3 passer rating and a 5.29 adjusted net yards per attempt.
In 2022, he was 192 of 318 for 2,242 yards, 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, an 85.2 quarterback rating and 4.63 adjusted net yards per attempt.
Fields was drafted at 11th overall out of Ohio State in 2021. He certainly hasn’t lived up to that billing yet, but the Bears organization didn’t provide any stability for a young quarterback to learn and grow. He’ll now have two outstanding mentors in Wilson and Mike Tomlin.