What Justin Fields has worked to improve with Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers knew when they took a flier on quarterback Justin Fields back in March that he was still a work in progress even though he entered the NFL back in 2021 and made 38 starts during his Chicago Bears tenure.

For a piece published Thursday morning, Brooke Pryor of ESPN explained that the Steelers have had Fields "revert to the natural throwing stance he used at Ohio State and in his first year in Chicago" from springtime workouts through this past Friday's preseason opener against the Houston Texans.

"When I got [to Pittsburgh], the biggest thing was just, be on time and be accurate," Fields recently told Pryor. "They didn't really care too much about footwork or that my left foot was up, right foot was up. They just said to me , 'Just close your eyes and whatever's most comfortable to you, do that.' So that's what I did, and [it was] right foot forward, which makes sense. I've been doing it my whole life."

Fields went 10-28 as a starter for Chicago, and StatMuse shows that he took more sacks (135) and committed more fumbles (38) than any other quarterback across the past three seasons before the Bears decided to replace him with USC Trojans star Caleb Williams via this year's draft.

After Fields fumbled a pair of exchanges and took two sacks against Houston, former Pro Bowl linebacker and current NFL analyst Bart Scott criticized the 25-year-old for patting the ball before throws, for failing to "throw in process with great anticipation" and for causing "his offensive-line protection to break down." Steelers quarterbacks coach Tom Arth sounds confident a change of footwork can help Fields eliminate such flaws from his game sooner rather than later.

"He's really focused so much energy and attention on his footwork in the pocket, playing with a base, working through progressions quickly, being accurate with the ball in the pocket, all of those things you really see," Arth added about Fields. "You kind of saw him starting to take shape in [organized team activities] and minicamp, but these last couple of weeks have been so impressive to me to really see his growth and development as a quarterback."

Pryor noted that veteran Russell Wilson is "still slated to start" over Fields for Pittsburgh's Week 1 game at the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 8. One wonders if Fields' altered footwork could allow him to play well enough in this coming Saturday's exhibition matchup versus the Buffalo Bills to give head coach Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith something to think about regarding the depth chart before the club's preseason finale at the Detroit Lions on Aug. 24.