PITTSBURGH — On a beautiful afternoon with a beautiful opportunity in front of him, his messy run with the Bears was the last thing quarterback Justin Fields wanted to discuss.
Three years after the Bears drafted him 11th overall, hoping he would be their franchise quarterback, they offloaded him to the Steelers for next to nothing. But Fields seems happy to have moved on, as well, and this is the second chance he wanted as soon as he realized the Bears were done with him.
He said a provisional goodbye to fans after the final game of last season, and his suspicion soon was confirmed in an awkward end-of-season meeting with general manager Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus.
‘‘It was just a little bit different this year,’’ Fields said at the Steelers’ organized team activities Tuesday, speaking publicly for the first time since the trade. ‘‘I’m not naive. I can read body language and stuff like that. It wasn’t a shock. I knew what was gonna happen. I’m just glad I got traded to the spot I wanted.’’
Justin Fields: “I’m nowhere near my ceiling.” pic.twitter.com/RTs3PzLhar
— Mike DeFabo (@MikeDeFabo) May 21, 2024
As the Bears moved toward drafting quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick, Fields pushed for a trade to the Steelers. He thought that option had been eliminated when the team signed nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback Russell Wilson on March 15, but another spot opened up when former first-round pick Kenny Pickett demanded a trade and the Steelers dealt him to the Eagles.
‘‘Shoutout to Poles,’’ Fields said in appreciation.
The Bears got a sixth-round pick in 2025 for Fields that will become a fourth-rounder if he plays at least 51% of the Steelers’ snaps this season. Given that Wilson has declined the last two seasons and will turn 36 this year, Fields has a chance at that — and at proving he might be the Steelers’ long-term answer. Both players will be free agents after the season.
The two practiced together at the Rooney Sports Complex, with Wilson wearing his usual No. 3 and Fields wearing No. 2 after beginning his career with No. 1. The Steelers have an unwritten rule about No. 1 and haven’t issued it in decades.
Wilson spoke glowingly of Fields, 25, and the chance to invest in his career. They’ve been friends since Fields was at Ohio State. Nonetheless, Fields is aiming to put Wilson on the bench.
‘‘I’m definitely competing; Russ knows that,’’ Fields said. ‘‘Him being out there helps me get better. We’re pushing each other. I definitely don’t have the mindset of me just sitting all year.’’
However the competition ends, the infrastructure with the Steelers is better than what Fields had with the Bears. Former GM Ryan Pace and former coach Matt Nagy were on their way to being fired, and the Bears refused to hold a legitimate competition after promising the starting job to Andy Dalton in 2021.
The Steelers, however, are one of the most respected organizations in sports. Mike Tomlin has coached them since 2007, has won a Super Bowl and never has had a losing season. He’s among the titans of his era, and his aura struck Fields immediately.
‘‘Just listening to the team meeting today . . . he might go down as the best coach I’ve ever played with,’’ Fields said. ‘‘He’s been great. When I got here, he was straight-up and honest with me, so I appreciate that.’’
He added he was excited about the Steelers’ long-established culture and ‘‘the consistency throughout the years that Coach T has and the standard that the Steelers have set.’’
That surely would appeal to Fields after the disorder under Nagy and Pace, followed by Poles’ full teardown in 2022 and various missteps by Eberflus and former offensive coordinator Luke Getsy.
Fields said he had ‘‘nothing but love’’ for the Bears and Chicago, but he declined to say whether the team did all it should have to facilitate his growth.
‘‘I’m not really gonna harp on the past,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m here now. I’m grateful to be here.’’
Fields sees a brighter trajectory than his path to this point. He was 10-28 as a starter with the Bears, completing 60.3% of his passes, averaging 166.9 yards passing per game, throwing 40 touchdown passes and 30 interceptions and finishing with an 82.3 passer rating. He also averaged 55.5 yards rushing per game and in 2022 became only the third quarterback in league history to run for 1,000 yards.
That choppiness was as much on him as it was on the Bears, however.
Tomlin credited Fields’ professionalism and his experience in handling the responsibility that comes with being the face of a franchise, but he couldn’t say how much of his on-field work would carry over versus how much he and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith need to teach him a new approach.
‘‘We will see,’’ Tomlin said. ‘‘Some of those questions will be revealed over time.’’
The Bears thought Fields was still rising, but they weren’t convinced enough to commit to a huge contract extension and saw greater potential in Williams. Fields won’t get a shot at sticking it to them this season, but the Bears are slated to host the Steelers in 2025.
While he didn’t rip the Bears for hindering his progress, Fields said he thinks his development could accelerate with the Steelers. They have unparalleled stability with Tomlin, a future Hall of Famer whose defense ranked sixth in the NFL last season, and Smith is a highly regarded offensive mind accustomed to coaching dual-threat quarterbacks. Plus, any observant young player could learn a lot from Wilson.
Fields still has flaws to fix and has no assurance he’ll be here longer than one season, but he has reason to be optimistic.
‘‘I’m not the same quarterback as I was last year,’’ he said. ‘‘I have a lot more room to grow. I’m nowhere near my ceiling, for sure.’’
