When the Pittsburgh Steelers traded for former Chicago Bears starting quarterback Justin Fields, many thought that there was a chance he could be the team’s starting quarterback over Russell Wilson this upcoming season. But one Steelers legend does not seem all that excited with what he’s seeing from Fields.
This week, a video surfaced showing Justin Fields throwing the ball to James Everett Jr., a private football trainer known by the name of RouteGod on social media. But legendary Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell was not impressed with what he saw from Fields.
“that ball gettin there lateeeeeeeee .. I know it’s routes on air, but this is telling you a lot,” Bell said in a post on X, the social media website that was formerly known as Twitter.
that ball gettin there lateeeeeeeee .. I know it’s routes on air, but this is telling you a lot https://t.co/eKm7WJbWrA
— Le'Veon Bell (@LeVeonBell) June 19, 2024
When a fan tried to claim that the ball wasn’t actually getting there that late, Bell doubled down on the criticism.
“lol he’s waiting like 7 years for the ball to get there on a 5 yard hitch,” Bell said, adding a crying laughing emoji.
lol he’s waiting like 7 years for the ball to get there on a 5 yard hitch 😂
— Le'Veon Bell (@LeVeonBell) June 19, 2024
Bell hasn’t completely given up on Fields, though. He thinks he has a lot of talent, but he does seem to think he needs to improve quite a bit.
“I ain’t say all that, but he definitely gotta bunch of room improve .. which can also be scary with all the talent he has,” Bell said when a fan suggested that Fields was “trash.”
I ain’t say all that, but he definitely gotta bunch of room improve .. which can also be scary with all the talent he has
— Le'Veon Bell (@LeVeonBell) June 19, 2024
This is not the first time this offseason that Fields has faced criticism. Earlier this month, Pittsburgh Steelers insider Ray Fittipaldo criticized Fields’ accuracy with the ball.
“Fields, from what I’ve seen, they had a month of spring practices and he’s a terrific athlete, but really the knocks against him that I heard coming in actually turned out to be true,” Fittipaldo said during a radio show appearance. “He’s not terribly accurate with the ball. His placement isn’t all the great, and I could see them maybe having a package or two for him each week depending on the opponent, but I see this team as Russell Wilson’s team.”
But he did receive some praise from Steelers general manager Omar Khan.
“We really liked Justin coming out of college. He had an up-and-down situation in Chicago, and the opportunity was there to get him, and I’m excited. He’s really looked awesome. He’s a great individual, too. I didn’t know him personally until he got here. What a special person he is,” Khan said earlier this month.
Fields is still expected to compete with Wilson for the starting role this offseason. We’ll have to see how he performs.
