For better or worse, Chicago Bears fans will need to keep an eye on Justin Fields' progression with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
No, not as a retrospective exercise where fans want to keep tabs on Fields and see if he proves to be a better quarterback than Caleb Williams. Fields' status with the Steelers needs to be monitored because of the conditions of the compensation that the Bears could receive from Pittsburgh.
If Fields appears in over 51% of their offensive snaps next season, the Bears will receive a fourth-round pick instead of a sixth-round pick from the Steelers.
Needless to say, every Bears fan should want Fields to see playing time with the Steelers. But, Fields' playing time with the Steelers will not be as the team's kick returner. There was speculation that the new kickoff rules may allow for Fields to be a kick returner for the Steelers, especially after comments that were reportedly made by their special teams coordinator, Danny Smith.
Fields spoke with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and clarified that he will not be returning kicks for the Steelers.
"“(Steelers special teams) Coach Danny (Smith) was basically just trying to send a message that no matter who you are, you could be on special teams. He just used that as an example,”"Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
For all the jokes that were had at the expensed of Fields being a kick returner for the Steelers, it was an idea that never made sense.
For all the shortcomings Fields has had as the Bears' starting quarterback over the past three seasons, he still is a capable quarterback in the NFL. Fields' future in the NFL is as a quarterback, and he has a chance to unseat Russell Wilson as the starting quarterback if Wilson struggles early on.