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Justin Fields named starter for Pittsburgh Steelers in opener vs. Falcons

Sean Labar

By Sean Labar

Published:

Justin Fields is getting the chance to start for a new NFL team as the 2024 season kicks off.

Fields was traded from the Chicago Bears to the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason. He’ll start for Pittsburgh on Sunday as Russell Wilson is inactive for Week 1 with an injury.

That news was first reported by the NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo:

Fields was selected by the Chicago Bears in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft — and while he showed improvement from year to year — the organization opted to move on from him as their franchise QB and select former USC signal caller Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick last April.

So the former Ohio State QB ended up in Pittsburgh — an organization that had just traded for Russell Wilson to be their starting QB — leaving question marks about Fields’ future in the NFL.

Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin never openly admitted Wilson was always going to be the starter for Week 1, but after Fields struggled in training camp and in the preseason, Wilson was named the starter.

In an unexpected twist, it was reported earlier this week Wilson was dealing with a minor calf injury, but with the Steelers slated to kickoff their season against the Falcons at 1 P.M. ET, Fields has been named the starter with Wilson inactive for the opening game of the year.

Fields finished last season with 2,562 passing yards with 16 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. He added another 420 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns with his legs. It will be interesting to see if Fields plays well in Week 1 how the Steelers handle the QB position moving forward in 2024.

Sean Labar