There was a time not that long ago when the Chicago Bears appeared committed to Justin Fields as their starting quarterback. The team traded the first overall pick in 2023 to the Carolina Panthers rather than draft Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud after Fields rushed for over 1,100 yards with eight scores in 2022.

However, Fields never enjoyed the success through the air that he did on the ground. Only once did he eclipse 2,500 passing yards in a season, and that was just barely. He averaged 10 interceptions a season, was sacked a whopping 135 times in three years and won just 10 of 38 starts.

Chicago didn’t pass on drafting a quarterback first overall in 2024, and the arrival of Caleb Williams was the end of the line for Fields in the Windy City. At first glance, Pittsburgh might appear an ideal place for Fields to resurrect his career—the Steelers have long been one of the league’s most stable franchises. But Pittsburgh also added former Super Bowl champion Russell Wilson in the offseason, and Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has already stated that Wilson will enter camp atop the depth chart at quarterback.

Still, Fields told reporters he isn’t just going to roll over and surrender the starting job.

“I’m definitely competing,” Fields said. “I think Russ knows that we’re competing against each other every day. Him being out there for me, that helps me getting better, especially each other. I definitely don’t have the mindset of me just sitting all year. I’m coming in every day giving it all I got and pushing him to be his best, and he’s pushing me to be my best each and every day.”

An argument can be made that Fields’ dual-threat ability actually offers the Pittsburgh offense a higher ceiling than Wilson, who averaged less than seven yards per attempt last year for the first time in his career. But Wilson also threw over three times as many touchdowns as interceptions in Denver a year ago and is 43 games over .500 as a starter.

Barring an injury, winning the quarterback competition in Pittsburgh is going to be an uphill climb for Fields.

And you can’t revive your career holding a clipboard.