Former NFC North QB Could Have Brand New Role in 2024
Earlier this spring, the Chicago Bears made the decision to move on from QB Justin Fields, trading him to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In return, the Bears got a conditional sixth-round pick, and it opened the door for Chicago to freely select Caleb Williams without any QB battle for the No. 1 overall pick. Of course, the Steelers had already signed Russell Wilson in free agency, and he is on track to be the starter this season.
As a result, Fields would only be the backup QB for the Steelers, and apparently, Pittsburgh is messing around with the idea of trying the former NFC North QB out in an entirely new role for the 2024 season.
A New Role for a Former NFC North QB?
That role comes in the form of returning kicks on special teams. The NFL is revamping the league’s kickoff rules once again this season in hopes that the play becomes more relevant once again with fewer touchbacks and more returns.
Steelers RB Jaylen Warren went on his teammate Cameron Heyward’s podcast this week, and he mentioned the possibility of Fields taking on that return man role. “I would, I think it’s pretty cool — as soon as you touch the ball that’s when everything starts to happen,” Warren said. “Our special teams coordinator was talking about Justin Fields being back there. […] We looked at him like, Justin Fields will be back there? I think it’s cool.”
Of course, Fields has always been known for his scrambling ability going back to his collegiate days at Ohio State. It was a big reason why the Chicago Bears decided to trade up to the 11th overall pick back in 2021 and select him.
During his three seasons in Chicago, Fields appeared in 40 games (making 38 starts), and he put together 356 carries for 2220 yards and 14 touchdowns. His 7.1 yards per carry in 2022 led the entire NFL. The rushing numbers are impressive, and with the new kickoff rules, perhaps they could translate well to being a return man.
That role won’t quiet the already loud rumblings that Fields turned out to be a bust as a QB, though. In his 38 starts throughout his career with the Bears, Chicago went just 10-28, and he totaled only 6674 passing yards and 40 passing touchdowns while throwing 30 interceptions and completing 60.3% of his passes.
A number of factors went into Fields’ lack of success in Chicago, but ultimately, the franchise has already decided to move in a different direction, and his new team apparently is flirting with the idea of playing him at a non-QB position.
It’s certainly an interesting experiment in Pittsburgh, though. We’ll see if Fields’ athletic ability can translate to a new role.
Fields turned 25 years old back in March.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Reference.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.