Steelers Justin Fields practice reviews are exact opposite of Kenny Pickett

Across the NFL, there are teams that have spent years — if not decades — stuck on a quarterback carousel. The Pittsburgh Steelers have spent the past few years desperately attempting to not sink into that never-ending cycle.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who led the Steelers to two Super Bowl championships, but his 18-year career came to an end after the 2021 season. In the two seasons since his retirement, Pittsburgh has seen three different quarterbacks take snaps under center. Kenny Pickett, Mitchell Trubisky, and Mason Rudolph combined for almost as many interceptions (23) as passing touchdowns (24), which happens to be reflected in Pittsburgh's mediocre 10-7 and 9-8 records in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Pittsburgh booted all three quarterbacks out of town this offseason to rebuild the offense. The Steelers brought in offensive coordinator Arthur Smith to design the scheme, signed former Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson in free agency, and traded for former Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields.

The Steelers acquired both quarterbacks for pennies on the dollar, but as the old adage goes, you get what you pay for.

Buyer's remorse in Pittsburgh? Justin Fields underwhelms as Kenny Pickett shines

Pittsburgh wrapped up organized team activities and held their three-day mandatory minicamp earlier this month. Steelers insider Ray Fittipaldo attended the portions of the team's practices during media availability. So far, he has been underwhelmed by Fields' performance.

“Fields, from what I’ve seen, they had a month of spring practices here and he’s a terrific athlete, but really the knocks against him that I heard coming in actually turned out to be true,” Fittipaldo said. “He’s not terribly accurate with the ball. His placement isn’t all that great, and I could see them maybe having a package or two for him each week depending on the opponent, but I see this team as Russell Wilson’s team.”

Fields' practice struggles shouldn't come as any surprise. The Ohio State quarterback was selected with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, and there were immediate expectations for him to perform well due to his so-called "high ceiling." Even after posting a 10-28 career record through his first three seasons, fans were convinced that the quarterback was not to blame for his struggles.

In Pittsburgh, some fans are hoping to see the Steelers start Fields instead of Wilson. At 35 years old, Wilson's best football is likely behind him, while Fields has plenty of room to grow at age 25. Still, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has already given Wilson the edge of winning the starting role. The reasoning is obvious: Fields still needs time to develop.

An anonymous Bears coach recently said Fields was "hard to watch" due to his inability to process the field. NFL Films producer and analyst Greg Cosell expressed similar criticism, saying Fields "doesn't consistently see it or process it with the needed clarity and speed."

Meanwhile, Pickett has received glowing reviews from the Philadelphia Eagles' offseason program. The Steelers selected Pickett with the No. 20 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. While purging their quarterback room this offseason, Pittsburgh traded Pickett to the Eagles. Apparently, two years of Pickett was more than enough.

Pickett had a promising rookie season, but he showed no signs of growth in his sophomore campaign. There were a multitude of reasons for Pickett's stunted development, many of which fell on the Steelers dysfunctional offense. The 25-year-old quarterback is bound to look better in Philadelphia, where he is surrounded by an elite arsenal of weapons and protected by one of the best offensive lines in the league.

These early practices often aren't a good indicator of how well a player will perform in live games, but it's still not a good sign for a quarterback to struggle.

Whether or not the Steelers made a mistake by trading away Pickett and trading for Fields likely won't be answered anytime soon. Pickett won't start unless Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts suffers an injury, and Fields may not start if Wilson performs well. The likelihood of both quarterbacks starting this season is quite low. Still, crazier things have happened.