Why analyst doesn't think Justin Fields will become Steelers' long-term QB

During an appearance on the latest edition of "The Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny," NFL Media's Kyle Brandt suggested that quarterback Justin Fields showed throughout his Chicago Bears tenure that he won't be the Pittsburgh Steelers' long-term answer at the position.

"He's a burst player," Brandt said about Fields, as shared by Troy Montgomery of Steelers Depot. "He'll give you an amazing quarter, or a great half, but usually it ends up losing for the Bears, and it's a lot of the time his fault."

Chicago made Fields the 11th overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, and he accumulated an overall record of 10-28 as a starter before the club traded him to the Steelers for a conditional 2025 sixth-round draft pick in March. According to Pro-Football-Reference, Fields finished last season ranked 24th in the NFL with a 46.1 adjusted QBR.

In January, Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic noted that Fields ended Week 18 ranked 32nd in the league out of 32 qualifying quarterbacks in multiple categories regarding fourth-quarter stats. Fishbain added that Fields "was one of the worst fourth-quarter quarterbacks" of the previous campaign.

During the show segment, Brandt also touched upon how some have blamed the Bears' instability for Fields' play as a pro.

"There was this amazing civil war between the Fields apologists and the people that were actually saying it's his fault," Brandt continued. "The answer was both. The Bears didn't support him, and he did make a lot of poor plays in big moments. You'll get something, but I don't think you'll get it consistently."

Fields is in the last season of his contract and seemingly will enter training camp beneath veteran Russell Wilson on the depth chart. Much has been made about whether or not Pittsburgh will try to sign Fields to an extension considering the club traded for the 25-year-old, but logic suggests he won't want to ink such a deal without knowing, for sure, if he'll receive a legitimate chance to start later this season.

Fields first will look to prove individuals such as Brandt wrong beginning with Pittsburgh's preseason opener versus the Houston Texans on Aug. 9.