Bears traded Fields to Steelers in March
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Justin Fields and Caleb Williams will be forever linked.
The Chicago Bears selected Fields in the first round in 2021. He would go on to spend the first three years of his NFL career in Chicago. This past March, that same franchise decided to trade Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for a conditional sixth-round draft pick in 2025. Just over a month later, the Bears used the first overall draft pick on Williams.
Fields experienced his fair share of ups and downs throughout his 40-game tenure with the Bears, but he has seemed to have found his footing with the Steelers. Super Bowl champion Russell Wilson was named the starter heading into the 2024 regular season, but he was scratched from Pittsburgh's season opener against the Atlanta Falcons due to a hamstring injury.
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Justin Fields of the Pittsburgh Steelers looks on after beating the Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High on Sept. 15, 2024, in Denver. (Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
Fields helped lift the Steelers to an 18-10 victory over the Falcons in Atlanta. Last week, Fields threw one touchdown and avoided turning the ball over in a game against the Denver Broncos to help Pittsburgh improve to 2-0 on the season.
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Meanwhile, Williams' final stat line after his NFL debut was largely forgettable. The Bears scored 24 points, which was enough to defeat the Tennessee Titans, but Williams finished the day with just 93 passing yards and no touchdowns.
Williams delivered another pedestrian performance on Sunday night as the Bears suffered a 19-13 loss to 2023 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans.
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams heads off the field following an NFL football game against the Texans on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Fields dealt with similar issues during his stint with the Bears. While Matt Nagy was the head coach during Fields' rookie campaign, much of the Bears' current regime, which is led by Matt Eberflus, was in place when the 25-year-old signal-caller was in Chicago.
Fields worked under a couple of different offensive coordinators during his run in the Windy City, but Eberflus' approach to the offense appeared to largely remain the same. Eberflus elected to bring in Shane Waldron from the Seahawks to help guide Williams this season, but the results through the first pair of games have been underwhelming.
Fields can certainly relate to what Williams is going through, and he told Fox News Digital that he believes the Heisman Trophy winner will ultimately recover from the slow start.
"I think he's going to be fine," Fields said when asked about how Williams will fare as the season progresses. "It's his second game. He just got done playing. He's talented, he has all the talent in the world. They drafted him No. 1 overall for a reason.
"Of course, it's just not him, but he's going to get most of the blame just because of the position he's in," he continued. "But just as a whole … the guys over there I know … they want to be better, and I think they're going to be better. So, I'm hoping that they start getting [the things] done on offense that they need to do.
"[Caleb] played two pretty good defenses coming out, so I think he'll be fine."
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields (2) runs against Broncos defensive end Zach Allen (99) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Fields spoke to Fox News Digital on behalf of Reebok. This month, the NFL star teamed up with Reebok for the new Justin Fields collection.
The collaboration introduces a training shoe called the Nano X4, a running shoe, the FloatZig 1, and a youth-sized shoe known as the Zig Dynamica 2.0. Every shoe in the collection features the mantra "Evening the Playing Fields" in the sock liner.
"It’s an honor to launch the Justin Fields Collection with Reebok and continue our shared mission of supporting the next generation of athletes," Fields said. "The collection is designed to pay homage to my roots and the community around me."
NFL quarterback Justin Fields' Reebok footwear capsule titled "Reebok x Justin Fields" launched on Sept. 12. (Reebok)
Fields was named "Mr. Georgia football" during his standout high school football career. He went on to commit to the Bulldogs. But after experiencing limited playing time during his freshman season, he transferred to Ohio State. He went on to lead the Buckeyes to an appearance in the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship game.
At just 25 years old, Fields has experienced quite a lot in his football career. He said his faith and his family help keep him grounded.
"God, to be honest, because I've seen how he's worked in my life in those moments," Fields told Fox News Digital when he reflected on changing schools and joining a new NFL team. "Just in life for anybody, we all come up with ideas in our heads of how we want certain things to play out, and that might not always be God's will. He [does] things in a different way, and it turns out better than you could ever imagine.
"So, just trusting in him each and every day and also my family, really just the people who support me. Because I just know how God has put me on this platform to just inspire others … other people see what I've been through, so I just try and be a good role because at the end of the day we're all going through something."
Fields and the Steelers welcome the undefeated Los Angeles Chargers to Acrisure Stadium on Sept. 22 for Pittsburgh's regular-season home opener.
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Chantz Martin is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.
