Robert Griffin III believes Justin Fields would be in danger of completely ruining his NFL career if he was Pittsburgh's starting quarterback this season.
During an appearance on "The Rich Eisen Show," the former No. 2 overall pick by Washington explained just how Fields' career as a starter is hanging in the balance. In particular, Griffin detailed how Fields is walking a very tightrope on his path to being a starter.
"If you start Justin Fields first, and he goes out and plays bad for five games, his career is over as a starter," Griffin said bluntly , suggesting that Russell Wilson being in Pittsburgh might actually save Fields' career. "I think Mike Tomlin understood this.
"Maybe front facing to the media he'll say, 'It's an open competition,' because you have to, as a head coach. He knew all along who he wanted his starting quarterback to be, if indeed it is Russell Wilson, and I don't think there's a problem there."
When the two quarterbacks took to the field against the Buffalo Bills , it was Fields who proved to be the more effective signal caller between the two. Fields completed 11 of 17 passes for 92 yards while Wilson threw for 47 yards, completing eight of his 10 attempts.
Then in the Steelers' preseason finale against the Houston Texans, Fields threw completed 5-of-6 attempts for 67 yards, with Kyle Allen taking the brunt of the snaps. Wilson did not play in the preseason finale.
Despite how pundits are seeing Fields' position within the Steelers , the former Chicago Bears quarterback is doing what he can to block out the noise and prove he belongs as a starter. Speaking to reporters last week, the 25-year-old showed confidence in his abilities and believes he has done enough to show the coaching staff he belongs.
“I think I’ve shown what I can do,” Fields said at the time . “I think the time that I did have with the [first team] practicing in training camp, I think that went well. I think we grew a lot each and every day, but at the end of the day, it’s not up to me.
“I mean, I’m just going to come in here every day, each and every day, the same person, being a leader for this team and work my butt off, and everything else will be handled. I try to not think about stuff that I can’t control.
"I try to just think about the stuff that I can control, so I can’t control whether or not I’m going to be named the starter. I can control how I come in every day, how I work every day, and how I treat my teammates and every day."
Whether it was Fields, Wilson or another quarterback starting, the Steelers didn't win any preseason games. When asked if the preseason failures worried him, Wilson had an emphatic answer . "Absolutely not," the veteran told reporters.
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