A fresh start for Justin Fields will include a new number.
The Pittsburgh Steelers revealed jersey numbers for their offseason additions. Fields, who wore No. 1 through three seasons with the Chicago Bears, is switching to No. 2.
Russell Wilson will stick with No. 3, and third-string quarterback Kyle Allen took No. 4.
While the Steelers haven’t retired No. 1, they have kept it out of circulation for decades. Kicker Gary Anderson, the franchise’s all-time scoring leader, was the last to wear it during a regular-season game in 1994.
Fields also wore No. 1 at Georgia and Ohio State, but he’ll move a digit in a change that will likely match his standing on Pittsburgh’s quarterback depth chart.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said last month that Wilson will start in the “pole position” for the QB1 job. He’s nevertheless eager to work with Fields.
“He oozes talent and potential,” Tomlin said of Fields during the annual NFL meetings, per NFL.com’s Nick Shook. “He’s worn the responsibility of being a franchise quarterback, but still he gets an opportunity to come into a community-like situation and learn from a guy that’s been doing it for over a decade. Man, there’s a lot of meat left on that bone. Man. I’m just excited about working to be a part of extracting it.”
Fields posted an 86.3 quarterback rating in his third season, but the chance to draft a generational talent led the Bears to trade the former first-rounder. Chicago is widely expected to select USC quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick.
While the 25-year-old may open the season behind Wilson, Fields could make the competition interesting this summer.