Justin Fields and Caleb Williams will forever be linked.
The Chicago Bears drafted Fields in the first round in 2021. He would spend the first three years of his NFL career in Chicago. In March, the team traded him to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a conditional sixth-round draft pick in 2025. Just over a month later, the Bears used their first overall pick on Williams.
Fields played 40 games with the Bears and had his ups and downs, but he seems to have found his place with the Steelers. Super Bowl champion Russell Wilson was named the starter heading into the 2024 regular season, but missed Pittsburgh's season opener against the Atlanta Falcons with a hamstring injury.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Justin Fields of the Pittsburgh Steelers looks on after a win against the Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High on Sept. 15, 2024 in Denver. (Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
Fields helped the Steelers to an 18-10 victory over the Falcons in Atlanta. Last week, Fields scored one touchdown and avoided a turnover in a win against the Denver Broncos to help Pittsburgh improve to 2-0 on the season.
The Steelers will start with Justin Fields at quarterback in Week 3 instead of the injured Russell Wilson.
Meanwhile, Williams' final performance after his NFL debut was largely forgettable: Though the Bears scored 24 points, enough to beat the Tennessee Titans, Williams finished with just 93 passing yards and no touchdowns.
Williams had another mediocre performance on Sunday night as the Bears lost 19-13 to the Houston Texans, led by 2023 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year CJ Stroud.
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams leaves the field after an NFL football game against the Texans, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Fields had similar issues during his time with the Bears, where Matt Nagy was the head coach during Fields' rookie season, but much of the Bears' current setup under Matt Eberflus was already in place during the 25-year-old point guard's time in Chicago.
Fields worked under a few different offensive coordinators during his time in Chicago, but Eberflus' approach to the offense appears to have remained largely the same. Eberflus opted to acquire Shane Waldron from the Seahawks this season to help coach Williams, but results in the first two games have been disappointing.
Fields told Fox News Digital he can empathize with what Williams is going through and believes the Heisman Trophy winner will eventually bounce back from his slow start.
“I think he'll be OK,” Fields said when asked how Williams will fare as the season progresses. “It's his second game. He's just finished playing. He's talented. He's one of the best talents in the world. There's a reason we drafted him No. 1 overall.”
“Obviously, it's not just about him, but he's going to get most of the blame because of the position he's in,” he continued. “But overall … the guys that I know there … want to get better and I think they can get better, so I expect them to start doing what they need to do offensively.”
“(Caleb) faced two really good defenders before he came out, so I think he'll be OK.”
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 Zarbowski)
Fields spoke to Fox News Digital on behalf of Reebok, saying the NFL star teamed up with Reebok earlier this month to launch a new Justin Fields collection.
The collaboration includes a training shoe called the Nano X4, a running shoe called the FloatZig 1, and a youth-sized shoe called the Zig Dynamica 2.0. All shoes in the collection feature the slogan “Evening the Playing Fields” on the sockliner.
“I'm honored to launch the Justin Fields Collection with Reebok and continue our shared mission of empowering the next generation of athletes,” said Fields. “The collection is designed to pay tribute to my roots and the community around me.”
NFL quarterback Justin Fields' Reebok footwear capsule, “Reebok x Justin Fields,” was released on September 12th. (Reebok)
Fields was a standout high school football player who earned him the nickname “Mr. Georgia Football,” before joining the Bulldogs but transferring to Ohio State after limited playing time during his freshman season and leading the Buckeyes to the 2021 College Football Playoff national championship.
At just 25 years old, Fields has been through a lot during his football career and he said his faith and family have kept him going.
Click here to get the FOX News app
“Honestly, God, because I've seen how God has worked in my life in those moments,” Fields told Fox News Digital as he reflected on transferring schools and joining a new NFL team. “In anybody's life, we all have ideas in our heads of how we want things to be, but that's not always God's will. God does things differently and makes them turn out better than we could have ever imagined.”
“So every single day I trust him and I trust my family and the people who really support me, because I know God put me on this stage to inspire others…other people know what I've been through so at the end of the day, everyone's going through something so I just try to play a good role.”
Fields and the Steelers will host the unbeaten Los Angeles Chargers at Acrisure Stadium on Sept. 22 for Pittsburgh's regular season home opener.
Follow Fox News Digital sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
