There wasn’t a quarterback trade, but there might as well have been.
Justin Fields went from the Pittsburgh Steelers to the New York Jets. Aaron Rodgers went from the Jets to the Steelers.
Both moves happened in free agency, creating a double “revenge game” narrative for Sunday’s Week 1 clash between the Steelers and Jets.
Fields, for his part, is downplaying the whole thing.
“There’s no storyline for me,” Fields said, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN. “It’s ball for me, so I’ll let you guys kind of handle the storylines, the news lines and stuff like that. In the locker room, we just keep it straight ball.”
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Fields told reporters in the same conversation that he “considered” a return to Pittsburgh.
In the end, he left to be the Jets’ unquestioned starter. And when Russell Wilson left for the Giants, that left a spot for Rodgers to take with the Steelers.
Fields was 4-2 to open last season as Pittsburgh’s starter with Russ out injured. But when Wilson came back, Fields was on the bench the rest of the season.
“I’m a big believer in everything happens for a reason,” Fields said. “I was in a spot last year where I was able to see the game from a different perspective. I learned a lot from Russ and just all the other vets there, so not at all.”
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The NFL clearly knew what it was doing with this Week 1 matchup.
Rodgers, the 41-year old future Hall of Famer, is more of a headline grabber than Fields. But to have two QBs going up against their old team in their first game with a new team is quite the narrative draw in general.
Football players are always going to say they’re not thinking about it. For some, that may be true. Others definitely want some payback.
Fields and Rodgers will both be seeking that resounding first win on Sunday, against one another, knowing that it wasn’t long ago they were in the other QB’s shoes.
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