LATROBE, Pa. — One of Mike Tomlin’s favorite quotes is coming to fruition during the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ first week of training camp.
Tomlin often says, “One man’s misfortunate is another man’s opportunity.” That is the case right now for quarterback Justin Fields, who is getting unexpected reps with the first-team offense with Russell Wilson sidelined for the first three days of camp with a calf injury (he’s been labeled as day to day).
Similarly to Thursday’s practice, the last two practices saw Fields experience some ups and downs that was the overall theme of his three years with the Chicago Bears. During Saturday’s Seven Shots drill, Fields completed just one of his three pass attempts, but that one completion was noteworthy.
On the play, Fields rolled to his left and appeared to initially lock in on Jaylen Warren, who was tightly covered on the outside. But instead of forcing something to Warren, Fields checked down, surveyed the field (while also evading pressured) and lobbed a pass in traffic for Austin, who corralled the ball in the end zone.
Fields was largely off the mark on Friday before finishing with several completions that led to approving roars from Steelers fans who made the trek to Saint Vincent College.
Prior to those completions, Fields struggled to find his rhythm. His touchdown pass to Van Jefferson in Seven Shots was over shadowed by several misfires during Pittsburgh’s deep red zone drill pitting the offense against the defense. Fields had multiple other passes blocked (including one by T.J. Watt) and several others broken up as the result of off-the-mark throws.
It’s been said that Fields struggles to see the field. An example of that occurred at the midpoint of practice, when Fields missed an open George Pickens down the middle and instead threw a deep out pass to Austin that was overthrown and incomplete. But while that play may symbolize Fields’ main weakness, what followed might be an example of one of his strengths.
Late in practice, Fields went back to Austin on a similar play, but this time, the receiver and quarterback connected for a big gain. Fields then hit Pickens deep for a score before teaming up with tight end Pat Freiermuth for another big gain. Each completion was made despite several defensive backs patrolling the area.
Fields didn’t speak to the media following Friday’s practice (he did so on Thursday), but Wilson was more than happy to shower his teammate with praise.
“He’s done a good job,” Wilson said, via YardBarker. “Every play, he’s going against a really good defense. Every day, there’s some really great plays and plays that he (goes) back to. That’s part of practicing, and he’s doing a good job. He’s a really good competitor.”
In some ways, the first week of Steelers camp is playing out in a favorable way for the black and gold. While Wilson’s calf situation isn’t ideal, it’s giving Fields a chance to refine his craft while the Steelers continue to try to build a long-term plan for the quarterback position. As he’s shown so far at camp, Fields is a talented player with the potential, but he is still devoid of the consistency needed to be a franchise quarterback capable of taking a team places.
Fields may get there one day, but for now, that role is being filled by Wilson, a former Super Bowl champion whose leadership style and overall presence has been embraced by his new teammates.
“Obviously, somebody my age, you’ve seen him in the Super Bowl and has been the quarterback for some legendary teams,” Austin told CBS Sports following Thursday’s practice when asked about Wilson. “It’s almost surreal at first. … Russ doesn’t wanna do anything but to help the team and for our personal growth, too. He’s been to the top, won a Super Bowl. He’s pushing you to be a better person and player.”
