Steelers' 2024 Opponent Happy He May Get To Face Off Against Justin Fields

The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a revolving door at the quarterback position since the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger following the 2021 season. Since his departure, Mitch Trubisky, Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph, and Justin Fields have all started games for the Steelers. Fields was brought in during the 2024 offseason along with Russell Wilson, who has been struggling with a calf injury that has kept him sidelined throughout the regular season thus far. 

Wilson was assumed to be the starter, and he was even named the starting quarterback at the end of preseason. His injury then flared up, and Fields has gone 2-0 as the starting quarterback in Pittsburgh. He isn't doing anything spectacular on the stat sheet, but he is playing winning football. Not committing any turnovers, and just doing what is asked from him in the game plan. 

Star defender for the Dallas Cowboys, Micah Parsons spoke out about Fields and how happy he is to see him succeeding on the most recent episode of his podcast, The Edge With Micah Parsons. 

"Has Justin Fields been playing lights out? And could he play better? Absolutely. This is why great coaching matters. It's because [Mike] Tomlin's put him in the position, the offensive coordinator has put him in position. I would say this is almost the same thing as the Bryce Young situation. I think a lot of quarterbacks are capable of winning, but can they be on the right team? Can they be in the right structure to win games?"

Parsons compares Fields to Bryce Young, who was the number one overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to the Carolina Panthers. He was recently benched, just two games into his second season. There has been a recent trend of quarterback resurgences across the league, including guys like Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold. Parsons is putting Fields in that category, and wants to see Young get there as well.

Fields is likely only getting this opportunity in Pittsburgh due to Wilson's injury. Fields was announced as the backup, and had the Steelers struggled, he may have saw some playing time at some point during the regular season. Instead, he gets a chance to prove he is the real deal as he plays out the final year of his rookie contract. Parsons spoke more about Fields getting an opportunity with the Steelers.

"And I'm so happy that Justin Fields is getting this opportunity, that he's getting to clear his name. Because people kind of just threw him in the dirt, man. I personally didn't think he deserved that, especially because they [Chicago Bears] didn't do much for him."

Fields was never benched like Young during his time with the Chicago Bears, but there were certainly times when he didn't play well. He finished in the top 10 when it came to MVP voting during the 2022 season, but also had some serious lows with Chicago as well. The organization decided to move on from him after his third season, and he didn't have much trade interest outside of Pittsburgh.

Steelers' Justin Fields May Have A Chance To Go Up Against Micah Parsons

Pittsburgh is set to take on the Cowboys in Week 5 on Sunday Night Football. This will be an interesting matchup, and there is no telling who will be starting at quarterback for the Steelers when that game comes around. Fields is playing well right now and has yet to lose, but Head Coach Mike Tomlin still seems to gravitate towards Wilson.

Wilson feels as if he is making serious progress in coming back from his calf injury, and it feels like he should be ready to go within the next few weeks. It will all come down to Tomlin and the rest of the coaching staff on who will start once both quarterbacks are healthy. Many former players and media members have already spoken out, and they all seem to be in favor of Fields.

What do you think of Parsons' comments? Let us know below!

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