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Justin Fields went 4-2 as a starter in 2024 with Steelers.

It has been over a season since he was with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but veteran quarterback Justin Fields has carved out a new role with the Kansas City Chiefs. According to ESPN’s Nate Taylor, Fields has now been tabbed as the backup signal-caller to MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes. After a disappointing stint with the New York Jets, which was more about the team than it was about Fields, the former first-round pick sits in a good spot on a contending team.

Justin Fields Was a Catalyst for the Pittsburgh Steelers

GettyJustin Fields played in 10 games for the Steelers in 2024.

While much of his five-year career has been bumpy, Fields was able to have perhaps the best stint of his career with the Steelers in 2024. While veteran Russell Wilson was battling injuries at the start of the season, Fields stepped in and kept the team in a good spot. He led the team to a 4-2 record as its starter. Across the 10 games that he played in, he recorded 10 total touchdowns and just one interception. His 93.3 passer rating was the best of his career. Without his play earlier in the season, the Steelers likely wouldn’t have ended up making the playoffs.

Due to his quality play, he earned a two-year contract worth $40 million from the New York Jets last offseason. He ended up starting just nine games and winning two of them. He did, however, end up recording 11 total touchdowns and just one interception. Unlike his Chicago Bears tenure, the former Ohio State Buckeye has taken care of the football over the last few seasons. Unfortunately, injuries have been somewhat of an issue, and the overall team just hasn’t meshed together with him in the fold.

Justin Fields Looks to Provide Support for Patrick Mahomes

GettyThe Chiefs traded a sixth-round pick to the Jets in exchange for Justin Fields this offseason.

The Chiefs made a wise decision by trading a late-round pick for Fields. It has been two years since they have had any sort of consistency at the backup quarterback position. At least, veteran Carson Wentz had experience on his side two seasons ago. Last year, it was Shane Buechele and Chris Oladokun backing up Mahomes. But now that Mahomes is coming off a major knee injury, head coach Andy Reid is once again seeing the value in having a quality backup. This is where Fields could come into play, which should give Chiefs fans a reason to sleep easily at night.

Should Mahomes go down due to injury, Fields has 53 career starts under his NFL belt, was a great college quarterback, and has dual-threat capabilities. He wouldn’t be the first quarterback with dual-threat capabilities to play for Reid, either. The likes of Donovan McNabb, Michael Vick, Alex Smith, and even Mahomes have demonstrated their ability to flourish as both throwers and passers during their storied careers. Regardless, even if Fields doesn’t find a way to play this year, sitting back and learning for one more year couldn’t hurt him one bit.