Quarterback Justin Fields is set to start a new chapter of his career in 2024 with the Pittsburgh Steelers. A first-round pick of the Chicago Bears in the 2021 NFL Draft, they decided to go in a different direction at quarterback.
Owning the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft for a second consecutive season, they opted to select USC quarterback Caleb Williams. It was a move many people expected, as Williams is a highly touted prospect.
But, it was a situation that the Bears handled perfectly as Justin Fields was informed throughout the entire process. They even did him a solid by trading him to the Pittsburgh Steelers, which is the franchise Fields said he wanted to play for.
“We were in the same situation last year with having the No. 1 pick, and it was just a little bit different this year,” Fields said Tuesday, speaking for the first time since the trade. “I’m not naive to the fact that — I can read body language and stuff like that. It wasn’t really just a shock to where it’s like, ‘Oh, I got traded.’ I knew what was going to happen beforehand. So I’m just glad I got traded to the spot that I wanted to be at.”
Justin Fields is relieved that the situation has been resolved and he landed where he wanted to be. However, there was a time during the offseason when he wasn’t sure a trade to the Steel City was feasible.
Earlier in the 2024 offseason, the Steelers signed veteran Russell Wilson after he was released by the Denver Broncos. With Kenny Pickett still on the roster at the time, there seemed to be no room for Justin Fields as well. But, his agent reassured him that Pittsburgh could still be in play.
“With Kenny still here and then Russell here, I definitely thought the door was shut, so I didn’t know where I was going to end up at that point,” Fields said. “But my agent kind gave me a heads up a couple of days before that Kenny even might be getting traded. So when I heard that, and then I actually saw it happen in real time, then I kind of knew kind where I was going at that point.”
The Pittsburgh Steelers informed Justin Fields that Wilson is the starter at the start. But, that isn’t going to deter him from competing for the job. He is motivated by his fresh start and will do whatever he can to beat out Wilson for the QB1 spot.
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