When Justin Fields spurned the Pittsburgh Steelers for the New York Jets in free agency, many Steelers fans were upset about his departure from the team. Fields was benched entering Week 7 of the 2024 season for veteran Russell Wilson and never got his job back in Pittsburgh.
Almost exactly one year later to the day, Fields is repeating history—this time with the New York Jets. The fifth-year quarterback had another horrendous outing. Playing at home against the Carolina Panthers, Fields completed just six passes on 12 attempts for 46 yards (3.8 yards per attempt) while taking three sacks.
Fields was quickly benched for veteran Tyrod Taylor. Surprisingly, Fields' 11.5 QBR was hardly the worst of his 2025 season. In Week 6 against the Denver Broncos, Fields finished the game with -10 net passing yards—earning a mere 45 passing yards on the afternoon, but taking 55 sack yards.
Now it looks like his time as a starting quarterback is already coming to an end. But what most fans don't realize is that he just burned the Steelers one last time.
Justin Fields likely cost the Pittsburgh Steelers a high compensatory pick
When Fields left the Steelers in free agency, Pittsburgh was on track to receive a high compensatory pick. Some speculated that this could be as high as a third-rounder in the 2026 NFL Draft. However, Over The Cap projected the Steelers were on track to receive a fourth-round pick, based on Fields' contract he signed with the Jets and his projected play time.
Unfortunately, Fields' benching could lead to a lesser draft pick or even the pick being wiped out entirely.
Because Fields didn't even make it halfway through the season as the Jets' starting quarterback, it's possible the projected fourth-round pick the Steelers may have otherwise received for Fields could turn into a fifth-rounder.
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While this may seem insignificant, the lesser comp pick decreases the chances of the Steelers finding a draft-day gem early on Day 3 of the 2026 draft. And Fields is hardly the only culprit.
Former quarterback Russell Wilson was also benched by his respective team early in the 2025 season after signing a deal with the New York Giants in free agency. What Over The Cap projected to be a fifth-round pick for the Steelers for Wilson's departure is looking more like a sixth-round pick.
We don't know exactly how the comp formula is going to work out, and maybe the Jets will be forced to go back to Justin Fields at some point. However, Fields' benching was the worst-case scenario for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and he somehow found a way to disappoint us one more time.