While the world awaits Aaron Rodgers signing somewhere, the team that dealt with the Rodgers drama the last two years prepares to start Justin Fields at quarterback. Will he be successful?
Fields is a polarizing figure. There were Bears fans that believed in him a year ago and thought he could still be a strong NFL starter. The minimal trade compensation from the Steelers (a sixth-round pick) threw cold water on that idea; it seemed clear that NFL teams didn't view him as a viable option, or surely Chicago could have got more.
He opened as the starter for Pittsburgh, with Russell Wilson dealing with an injury of uncertain severity, with speculation that Wilson was fine and it was just the Steelers saving face while giving the youngster a long look. Fields went 4-2 as a starter. But Wilson took over and closed out the season in the lineup, even while struggling late, again throwing plenty of doubt on the idea that Fields could be successful.
The Steelers reportedly preferred keeping Fields to Wilson in free agency, but it doesn't appear they made any effort to retain either one. Fields signed with the Jets for two years and $40 million, money somewhat below what clear starting quarterbacks get in today's NFL, but somewhat above what backup passers make. He'll be the Week 1 starter for New York.
Fantasy-wise, there's little doubt that Fields will be a viable option. He averages 50 rushing yards per game for his career, same as passing for 100 yards in typical scoring systems. He's run for 19 touchdowns in 50 career games.
While his rushing yards were down in Pittsburgh last year (29 per game) he still ran in 5 TDs while making six starts.
But I wanted to set that aside and look at him strictly as a passer. The rushing production is great in fantasy leagues, but it doesn't do any good if he gets yanked for Tyrod Taylor six weeks into the season.
Looking at his career to this point, there are some promising signs. He seemed to take steps forward with Pittsburgh.
Table shows Fields' career passing numbers. First three years were in Chicago, fourth year was with the Steelers. His best numbers in each of those passing categories are listed in bold.
| FIELDS AS PASSER, 2021-2024 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | GS | QBrec | Cmp% | Yds/G | TD | TD% | Int | Int% | Rate | Sk | Sk% |
| 2021 | 10 | 2-8 | 58.9 | 155.8 | 7 | 2.6 | 10 | 3.7 | 73.2 | 36 | 11.76 |
| 2022 | 15 | 3-12 | 60.4 | 149.5 | 17 | 5.3 | 11 | 3.5 | 85.2 | 55 | 14.75 |
| 2023 | 13 | 5-8 | 61.4 | 197.1 | 16 | 4.3 | 9 | 2.4 | 86.3 | 44 | 10.63 |
| 2024 | 6 | 4-2 | 65.8 | 184.3 | 5 | 3.1 | 1 | 0.6 | 93.3 | 16 | 9.04 |
Completion percentage, interception percentage, passer rating and sack percentage were all better in his six starts with the Steelers than his 38 starts with the Bears. Smaller sample set, and he did of course get benched for Russell Wilson.
But hey, improvement better than decline. He'll have his college teammate Garrett Wilson, and a running back corps that's deep and talented. The offensive line is a question mark, but they have a pair of first-round talents in Olu Fashanu (who impressed with his starts late last season) and Alijah Vera-Tucker. Fields needs to cut down on his sacks, but he was notably better in Pittsburgh than with the Bears. That counts for something.
I'm in the wait and see camp on Fields, leaning toward the negative. The reality that there hasn't exactly been a bidding war for his services the last two offseasons can't be ignored.
But there's some promise there. Taking a step forward, as he did with Pittsburgh, beats taking a step back. Maybe he can put things together this year. I'm not optimistic, but between the improvement and of course the rushing potential, he's worth a late pick as a backup quarterback in fantasy drafts. Faint praise, but it's something.
--Andy Richardson