Chicago Bears All-Pro cornerback Jaylon Johnson believes Justin Fields was dealt a bad hand in Chicago. The stability was just not there for a young quarterback to develop and grow. Fields had two head coaches and three different offensive coordinators during his three years with the Bears.
Johnson thinks it will be a different story for Fields with the Steelers. He expects his former teammate to ball out.
“It was an unfortunate three years just having so many pieces around him,” Johnson said during an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show Friday. “Not having too much stability. Not having too many actual weapons. To me, it was unfortunate. Overall, I thought he gave his heart to the team. He gave his heart to Chicago. There was never anything short of his full effort. Just for me, definitely love and respect Justin as a human and a quarterback. But I think it’s just an unfortunate situation when he came in.
“Don’t blink. Don’t blink because there’s been plenty of times I’m like, ‘Here we go again.’ Get sacked again on third down.’ Put my helmet on and he’s running down the sideline. He’s going to make some plays happen. With his feet and his arm. Definitely don’t blink when Justin’s out there with the ball.”
Since 2022, Fields has the most rushing yards by a quarterback with 1,800 yards and 6.3 yards per carry. Both figures are higher than Lamar Jackson’s. And as Johnson mentions, Fields is very elusive in the pocket.
The All-22 angle of Justin Fields avoiding the sack is somehow even more impressive. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/8MpoDnCzYs
— Kyle Yates (@KyleYNFL) January 3, 2024
Johnson makes a valid point that Fields didn’t have a lot of weapons to work with in Chicago. He was throwing to the likes of Darnell Mooney, Chase Claypool and Equanimeous St. Brown for the most part. Tight end Cole Kmet was his best receiver before DJ Moore arrived in 2023.
The Steelers are still in need of a No. 2 wide receiver, but George Pickens is a rising receiver in the NFL. Many believe he’s on the brink of stardom. Fields and Pickens recently got in some work at Elite Week at Del Valle High School in Texas. If Fields gets on the field, he and Pickens could be a dangerous duo.
Russell Wilson is expected to be the Steelers’ starting quarterback this year, but Fields doesn’t envision riding the bench all year.
“I definitely don’t have the mindset of me just sitting all year. I’m coming in here every day giving it all I got and pushing him to be his best, and he’s pushing me to be my best every single day,” Fields said at OTAs.
