The Pittsburgh Steelers have been playing hot potato with the quarterback position this season.
Justin Fields led the Steelers to a 4-2 record to open the season, albeit with an offense that seemed stagnant at points. Still, head coach Mike Tomlin’s decision to pull Fields to start a newly healthy Russell Wilson against the New York Jets was a surprising move that sent shockwaves all over the NFL.
The move paid off though. The Steelers scored a season-high 37 points and totaled over 400 yards of offense as the Steelers improved to 5-2 in Wilson’s debut. All seems to be well in Pittsburgh, unless, of course, you’re Justin Fields.
Fields’s demotion has led him to send some not subliminal messages online. “Patiently waiting,” he said in an Instagram story.
Justin Fields: “Patiently Waiting.” #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/KJBmAHxbOj
— Blitzburgh (@Blitz_Burgh) October 25, 2024
It’s hard not to take this as a direct shot at Russell Wilson. The only thing Fields could be waiting for is a chance to get his job back, which can only occur if Wilson is hurt or benched.
Fans reacted to the shot on social media.
“Pretty obvious that Fields is here for the long term, gotta learn a few things from Russ, like reading defences and the touch pass but he has the makings of a franchise QB. His underlying metrics are good and he’s able to run the ball, I have big hopes for him,” one optimistic fan said on Twitter.
“He’s gonna be waiting for a while. This cat still can’t read a defense or throw it touch and anticipation he’s never gonna be more than what he was.. not bashing him, but he was lucky with the turnovers into six games. He started that wasn’t skill that was pure luck,” one fan added.
“For Russ to get hurt?” one fan asked.
“Waiting on uber eats ?” one fan asked.
“gonna be waiting a long time probably on another team next season,” one fan said.
It’ll be interesting to see what sort of impact this shot has on Pittsburgh’s locker room.
