Back in 2021, there was a healthy smattering of Detroit Lions fans who wanted to see their team take Justin Fields in the first round of the draft. The feeling at the time was that Jared Goff just wasn’t going to be the long-term answer for this team.
Ultimately the Lions went with Penei Sewell and the Bears took Fields and I think Lions fans are still very happy about that move. Now years later Fields was traded by the Bears and benched by the Steelers and I’m ready to say that this is the perfect time to add Fields and Detroit is the best place for him to be.
Obviously, at this point, we’re talking about Fields being Jared Goff’s backup. Right now it seems like Hendon Hooker might not be around much longer and Teddy Bridgewater could be headed back towards retirement. That’s going to give the Lions a gap of time to roll with Goff and a backup before it comes time to start their look for their quarterback of the future.
In that time Fields can come in and at least be trusted to make some things happen if he has to get on the field. But more so this is a chance for Fields to rebuild himself under a very strong group of quarterback whisperers.
The Lions have John Morton, who helped install the offense you see now and was a big part of building Goff back up, you have Mark Brunell who is also a big part of restoring Goff and then there’s former NFL quarterbacks Bruce Gradkowski and Marques Tuiasosopo who can help. Then there’s Dan Campbell leading that whole thing.
So you have three former NFL quarterbacks and two strong offensive minds that can channel their time and knowledge into you. I don’t think anyone will say that Fields doesn’t have talent. It’s there, it just needs work and he wasn’t getting that at all in Chicago and wasn’t getting a ton of help in Pittsburgh either.
In addition to that, Fields can come out and play that Taysom Hill role for the Lions. They can utilize him in the wildcat, have him come out throw some passes on trick plays, and maybe even catch some passes. There’s a super fast guy just sitting there. He can help.
What would Fields cost? Cap expert Joshua Queipo is projecting that Fields could get a one-year deal worth $8.5 million. That is not a bad deal at all. It’s a win/win for both sides.