Pittsburgh Steelers’ Justin Fields Draws Hall of Fame Comparisons

After leading the Pittsburgh Steelers to a championship Week 3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers Quarterback Justin Fields, who started the season with a 3-0 record, has received high praise from former NFL head coach Rex Ryan.

On a program broadcast on ESPN on Monday morning To wake upRyan likened Fields to Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Young, saying he is still in his early stages and believes he has a lot of potential going forward.

“He’s becoming one of the scariest players in the National Football League now,” Ryan said. “When you talk about that athlete now, he’s becoming a better quarterback than the athlete — when you think back, you think — I’m not saying he’s Steve Young, but Steve Young.

“It took time for him to develop. And when you hit those guys, you hit a tremendous player. I always called him the future, because I thought this guy’s future was incredible, and you know what? It looks like he’s going to be the future.”

When the Steelers acquired Fields from the Chicago Bears in March, the expectation was that he would sit behind Russell Wilson, who joined the team in free agency, and continue to develop over the course of a year, potentially becoming the team’s starting quarterback.

But Wilson was inserted into the game earlier than expected when he suffered a calf injury at the start of training camp. Fields took the lion’s share of first-team reps in team drills during practice and impressed enough that a battle for the starting job unexpectedly emerged between the two players.

Wilson was in the starting lineup to begin the regular season but was sidelined ahead of Pittsburgh’s Week 1 game against the Atlanta Falcons due to a calf injury.

As a result, Fields took control of the offense and hasn’t looked back since. He’s currently in the midst of his first three-game hitting streak and has recorded 518 passing yards, two touchdowns, and one interception.

Fields has shown flashes of brilliance in the past as a former first-round pick, but he has never looked as polished and composed as he did in Pittsburgh. It’s hard to see how Wilson can get his job back this season, as Fields looks to be the future for the Steelers.

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