Jets QB Justin Fields on Steelers' benching: 'Everything happens for a reason'

Justin Fields went from playmaking starting quarterback to uncomfortable sideline observer.

Rather than pout, Fields insisted on drawing on the positives during his one-year stint in Pittsburgh last season and use them to fuel him on the next step of what has been an up-and-down NFL journey.

"Yeah, I'm a big believer in everything happens for a reason," Fields said during a video call Wednesday while speaking with reporters for the first time since signing with the New York Jets last month.

Fields was the No. 11 overall pick by Chicago in the 2021 draft, when the Jets took Zach Wilson at No. 2. After three seasons, the Bears moved on and traded him to the Steelers last offseason. With Russell Wilson dealing with a calf injury, Fields opened the season as Pittsburgh's starter and had five touchdown passes and five TD runs with just one interception while leading the Steelers to a 4-2 start.

But with Wilson healthy again, coach Mike Tomlin turned to the veteran. And Fields was sent to the bench.

"I was put in a place where I wasn't, really, never in a place in my entire life," Fields said. "So I think I tried to have a different perspective on it. Of course, Russ has been in the league for a long time, so I learned a lot of great things from him and got to learn a different perspective of things. ... So it was, of course, different for me in a space where I wasn't necessarily comfortable.

"But at the end of the day, Coach Tomlin, he made a decision where he thought was best for the team. And like I've said, I'm never going to go against that, of course. I'm not a selfish guy whatsoever. So, I just tried to change my perspective, get better each and every day in practice."

The Jets moved on from Aaron Rodgers in March,