New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields is entering his first season as the Jets’ starter. Fields may be in a new location, but he’s had plenty of experience as a starter. Not only did Fields start multiple seasons for the Chicago Bears, the team that drafted him, but he also started last season as the Steelers’ starter after Russell Wilson suffered a calf injury late in camp.
Fields led Pittsburgh to a 4-2 record but was ultimately replaced by Wilson when the veteran was medically cleared at the discretion of Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.
On Wednesday, Fields discussed his experience in the Steel City.
“I’m a big believer in: Everything happens for a reason,” Fields said, according to The Athletic. “I was put in a place (being a backup) where I wasn’t in my entire life. I tried to have a different perspective on it. Russ has been in the league for a long time.
I learned a lot of great things from him and got to learn a different perspective of things … It was different for me in a space where I wasn’t really comfortable. But at the end of the day, coach Tomlin made a decision he thought was best for the team and I’m never going to go against that. I’m not a selfish guy.
“So I just tried to change my perspective, get better each and every day in practice.”
Fields is also insisting that getting benched wasn’t responsible for his decision to leave and join the Jets.
“In this league, I have the mindset that you can’t take things personal,” Fields said. “I was just excited for what the Jets have going on here with (Aaron Glenn) and with the coaching staff and everything like that. It didn’t have anything to do with Pittsburgh but the opportunity I had here to make an impact and get things going.”
Hopefully, Fields is able to show that he’s a top-line starter in the league in his time with the Jets.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.