Justin Fields is starting to grow on me as the Steelers starting quarterback.

Why wouldn’t that be the case, right? I mean, 3-0. You couldn’t ask for a better start to the Steelers 2024 campaign. Clearly, you could ask for better stats from Fields, who is averaging just 172.6 passing yards per game and is on pace for 2,935 for the season. With two touchdown passes and one interception through three weeks, Fields is also on pace for 11 and five, respectively. His average yards per pass attempt is 6.9.

Overall, Fields has been okay as the “backup” quarterback for an injured Russell Wilson, who is still dealing with a calf strain he suffered early in training camp. Fields has mostly taken care of the football, and with a 73.3 percent completion percentage, he’s been deadly accurate. OK, there’s accurate, and then there’s ACCURATE; as evidenced by his yards per attempt, Fields’ accuracy must be placed in the lower-case category.

Still, Fields has come through often enough when called upon to complete some elite level passes.

Also, he does have a passer rating of 95.3, which ain’t too shabby.

It’s important not to let emotions get the best of you in situations that involve the “hot hand” at quarterback, especially with the 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers. The defense has done most of the heavy lifting during this 3-0 start to the season, allowing just 8.6 points per game. It’s difficult to lose when your opponent is hard-pressed to score 10 points.

I’m not stupid. I know the Steelers have restricted Fields up to this point. They want him to focus on not turning the football over and minimizing mistakes (where have we heard that before).  Head coach Mike Tomlin wants his young quarterback to not lose the game more than he wants him to win it. These restrictions may have allowed Fields, who struggled mightily with erratic play and turnovers during his three seasons in Chicago, to look decent and promising through three weeks.

What happens if Fields opens things up and begins to play more aggressively? Actually, I think it would be best for business if he does because everyone involved–including Tomlin, his players and the fans–would be better off if Fields developed into the Steelers’ next good-to-great quarterback.

Yes, I remember the excitement in March when the Steelers signed Wilson. Heck, my brother scared the hell out of me by calling me at 11:45 p.m. when he heard the news (he’s 47).

I never thought I’d see the day when Wilson would be Pittsburgh’s starting quarterback. I rushed home to watch him throw a few passes in the preseason game vs. the Bills at Acrisure Stadium on August 17. Part of me still wants to witness Wilson as the Steelers field general during a regular season game. At the moment, he could be the team’s best chance for a more potent passing attack.

But, again, I think it would be best for business if I never got to see any of that.

Why? Wilson is 35, while Fields is 25.

You do the math.

The sooner the Steelers find their next franchise quarterback, the better. When it does happen, chances are, that guy will be young, talented and possess tremendous upside. Fields, the 11th pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, still has all of those attributes.

He isn’t going to in a few years, and that’s why Fields needs to remain at the top of the depth chart for the remainder of the 2024 campaign (the one during games, not the one on the Steelers official team page). Fields will be a free agent after this year, and he and the Steelers will have some important decisions to make in the offseason.

If Pittsburgh decides to throw a lot of money at Fields next spring–either in the form of the franchise tag or a multi-year contract–that could only mean the former is confident the latter has developed to the point where consistently contending for championships will once again be the standard with him as the face of the franchise.

“What about the promises made to Wilson when the Steelers signed him?” you might be asking.

Who cares?

Seriously, I get sick of hearing about this “promises” garbage with veteran signees, going back to LeGarrette Blount and his hissy fit that got him expelled from the team mid-season. Le’Veon Bell was one of the best offensive weapons on the planet in 2014; were the Steelers supposed to rob him of touches just so the veteran they signed to be his backup running back–Blount–could be happy?

Rookie T.J. Watt quickly established himself as one of the best young defenders in the NFL in 2017. Bud Dupree, a 2015 first-round pick, was also starting to come along at the other outside linebacker spot. Were the Steelers just supposed to stunt their development to appease an aging James Harrison, who would never play again beyond that season?

Melvin Ingram was signed in the summer of 2021 to be the top backup at outside linebacker behind Watt, someone who had long since established himself as one of the scariest defenders in the NFL (he would go on to be named DPOY that year); and Alex Highsmith, a promising second-year player who Pittsburgh would eventually sign to a lucrative deal. If I recall, Ingram was in on over 60 percent of the defensive snaps that season before he passively aggressively worked his way out of town; exactly what promise did Pittsburgh break in that case?

Maybe the Steelers did promise those veterans more playing time than they ultimately got, but sports is a fluid endeavor. Things change, and you have to adapt on the fly. And to reiterate: Those veterans were signed as backups. (Give me an instance of the Steelers going back on their promise to pay those guys, and then we’ll talk.)

It may be different with Wilson, who likely was promised the starting job when he signed here in March. Hell, Watt, Cam Heyward and Minkah Fitzpatrick practically begged him to come to Pittsburgh to be the starter.

Again, things change. Just like fans, teammates often adapt to what is going on in the present.

The leaders of the Steelers locker room probably weren’t even thinking about Fields early in the offseason because he didn’t get traded to Pittsburgh until after Wilson was signed. Even during training camp, when Wilson spent most of it nursing a strained calf muscle and Fields took the majority of first-team reps, I’m sure Tomlin’s troops assumed the veteran quarterback would ultimately be the starter.

Wilson as QB1 (currently in name and eventually in application) may still be the assumption in the locker room, even after a 3-0 start.

But what if the Steelers continue to win with Fields, and he continues to evolve? What if Fields’s teammates–including those established veterans who recruited Wilson in the offseason–begin to believe in the young quarterback with the talent and upside?

If you asked me in April, May, June, July and August which quarterback I wanted to see start for the Steelers, again, it would have been Wilson. If you asked me that even after two weeks of the regular season, I still would have said Wilson. But I’m starting to come around to the idea of Fields.

Maybe he’s fool’s gold. I don’t know. However, I don’t care about being right. I don’t have an agenda. I just want what’s best for business.

The Steelers need to develop a young franchise quarterback. There is currently only one man on their roster who has the chance to be that. His name is Justin Fields, and he’s looking better every week.

Finally, I won’t talk in absolutes and blindly state that Justin Fields SHOULD BE THE STEELERS QUARTERBACK. NO DOUBT. IT’S A HILL I’M WILLING TO DIE ON, BABY. END OF DISCUSSION!

I’m just saying it would be best for all involved–you, me, the organization–if Justin Fields became too good to remain the Steelers “backup” quarterback.