Pittsburgh Steelers become betting favorites to land Justin Fields
It’s not a matter of if the Pittsburgh Steelers will bring in a quarterback this offseason, it’s a matter of who — who will come in to either provide competition for Kenny Pickett or outright supplant him as QB1.
Pittsburgh released backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky Tuesday and Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said last month that Pickett will be “challenged from a competition perspective moving forward.” Enter current Bears quarterback Justin Fields, who could soon be on the trade market if Chicago decides to select a quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick in April’s NFL Draft.
According to the latest odds from Odds Shark, the Steelers are the betting favorite to land Fields in a trade should Chicago make him available.
Mike Tomlin a ‘big fan’ of Justin Fields
Fields, the 2021 first-round pick out of Ohio State, is entering his fourth season in the NFL. To this point, the results have been a mixed bag. Chicago is 10-28 in his starts. He has thrown for 6,674 yards, 40 touchdowns and 30 interceptions on 60.3% passing. Pass protection in front of him has been an issue, as he has been sacked 135 times. That includes a league-high 55 in 2022.
Fields’ strength has been his playmaking ability with his legs, as he has rushed for 2,220 yards and 14 scores. He rushed for 1,143 yards in 2022, the second-most all-time in a single season by a quarterback (Lamar Jackson, 1,206 yards in 2019).
Adam Schefter noted during Monday’s appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” that Tomlin is a “big fan” of Fields.
“We know that Pittsburgh is going to go out and get some sort of quarterback,” Schefter said. “Whether that’s Russell Wilson, Justin Fields. Fields I know, Tomlin is a big fan. We’ll keep that in mind in the offseason in the coming weeks. There will be a decision the organization has to make. But they’re not just going to leave it with Kenny Pickett as the starting quarterback.”
Along with Fields, Pittsburgh could pursue free agent veteran signal-caller Ryan Tannehill. The 35-year-old had career years in 2019 and ’20 with the Tennessee Titans when Arthur Smith served as the team’s offensive coordinator. Smith is Pittsburgh’s new play-caller following his firing as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.