![NFL – Fittipaldo: Hits against Justin Fields ‘turned out to be true’ during spring practices| Keynote USA NFL – Fittipaldo: Hits against Justin Fields ‘turned out to be true’ during spring practices| Keynote USA](https://i0.wp.com/steelersdepot.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Justin-Fields-Pittsburgh-Steelers-2.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,0&ssl=1)
There are plenty of rumors in the local and national media about the quarterback competition in Pittsburgh. Russell Wilson is three years away from his best football right now, and at 35 years old, many would like to see the Steelers roll the dice on Justin Fields with a better long-term upside for the franchise.
Steelers insider Ray Fittipaldo was with the team a lot during spring practices, and he didn’t exactly offer a glowing endorsement of Fields entering training camp, where offensive coordinator Arthur Smith suggested the quarterback competition could “get hot.”
“Fields, from what I’ve seen, had a month of spring practices here and he’s an excellent athlete, but really the knocks against him that I heard turned out to be true,” Fittipaldo said in press coverage via SiriusXM. radio. “He is not very precise with the ball. His placement isn’t that great, and I could imagine they maybe have one or two packages for him each week depending on the opponent, but I see this team as Russell Wilson’s team.”
While Fields has improved year after year as a passer, he hasn’t made a huge leap in his first three seasons that would suggest he has a long-term future as a starting quarterback. His touchdown-to-interception ratio was at a career-high 16-to-9 in 2023, and his passing yards hit a career-high 2,562. While his adjusted net yards per pass attempt also hit a career-high of 5.29, that’s the exact same figure Kenny Pickett offered the team in 2023 as a second-year player.
As much as the Steelers plan to lean on the running game, I don’t think Fields’ athleticism and designed QB runs are enough to justify playing him over Wilson this season, and with 38 career starts, they may never take the necessary leap to be a franchise type player.
The other big flaw in his game has been his ability to close out games in the fourth quarter. He has just two fourth-quarter comebacks and three winning drives in his career, which is well below what Pickett had in two seasons and certainly far behind Wilson, who is in the top 10 in winning drives of all seasons. time.
Arthur Smith has a history of getting the most out of the quarterbacks he works with, specifically Ryan Tannehill in 2019 and 2020 with the Tennessee Titans, but Tannehill was much more successful as a passer coming into that situation than Fields is now.
Wilson would have to play very poorly and Fields would have to show major improvements during camp for the QB competition to tilt in Justin Fields’ favor.
Keynote USA
For the Latest Sports News, Follow Keynote USA Sports on Twitter.