Like many of you, I had heard the rumors that Justin Fields, new quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, wasn’t always the best teammate in Chicago. He wasn’t very ‘teachable’ and often paid little attention to the veteran QBs like Nick Foles. This is what an anonymous source and a team official have said. I’m going to assume these things are true and you know what? I don’t care.
I don’t care because I’ve been in enough locker rooms and seen enough sports over my life to know that what happens in one place doesn’t mean it will happen in another. If you look back over the last 20 years or so, many of the more sought after QBs in the Draft found success while many more didn’t. There’s no question that a young QB’s success rides on many things but among the most important of these are locker room leadership and overall team culture.
The Chicago Bears, a franchise rich in pro football history, have largely been a dumpster fire over the last couple of decades. They’ve gone through head coaches and quarterbacks like some people go through tissues. Toss in the fact that Fields was a young, inexperienced rookie expected to revitalize a once proud franchise and you’ve got all the makings of a disaster. Despite playing rather well over the second half of last season the Bears wanted to move on and the Steelers took advantage by getting the former first-rounder for mere peanuts.
There is of course no guarantee that Fields will be a success in Pittsburgh. There’s a tremendous amount of talent in the young man but he also has to be willing to put in the time and effort. The Steelers’ locker room is not perfect but I have to believe it will be a better environment for him. I also tend to believe that Russell Wilson won’t take kindly if Fields isn’t “paying attention” or isn’t putting in the work.
Speaking of Wilson, with him on board the pressure on Fields becomes less at least at the beginning and Fields should welcome that. At the same time however, I want to give Fields every opportunity to prove that he could one day be a starting QB and that’s what I’ll do. Until we see otherwise, I suggest the fan base do the same.
