Justin Fields isn’t the type to get angry about too many things. His personality has always been even-keel. Still, that doesn’t mean he’s emotionless. Like anybody else, the guy feels happiness, anger, sadness, and annoyance. He wasn’t expecting to feel any of those when the NFL approached him about participating in their NFL 2023 Kickoff series of commercials. It was meant to create some laughs while getting fans hyped up for what should be another fun year of football.
Things started innocently enough. One snippet saw Fields offer the idea of replacing his legs with actual wheels, giving a playful nod to his record-breaking 2022 season, where he had 1,143 rushing yards. However, it appears things took a slightly sour turn during another segment called The Last Page. In it, Fields offered another idea: for the league to ban sacks. This alludes to the 55 sacks he took last season, tied for most in the NFL. That isn’t counting the additional 31 hits he took. Fields indicated why he didn’t care for that segment during an interview with Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune.
Starting on a light note, you had the opportunity recently to meet with the NFL script writers. Did they take your advice on banning quarterback sacks?
“No, they didn’t. At all. Yeah, I mean, everything in that little commercial was already written for us. I felt like it was kind of low-key throwing my O-linemen under the bus a little bit. But yeah, it was a cool experience. It was like a real Hollywood set and everything.”
Justin Fields keeps showing loyalty and leadership.
He knows a lot of the blame for the beating he took last season fell on the offensive line. They were the ones assigned to protect him, and 55 sacks constitute an undeniable failure. Still, the group has already gotten plenty of criticism from fans and the media. The last thing they need is to take jabs from the NFL itself. Fields is a team-first player. He goes to bat for his guys. It is why nobody has a bad thing to say about him. It is why guys are willing to pick fights whenever he takes late hits.
This commercial will fade into the background quickly. The regular season is around the corner. Real games are about to begin. Justin Fields has no time to focus on such petty things. Yet even mentioning his annoyance at how the commercial producers scripted that segment says a lot about his character. He’s always looking out for his teammates, on and off the field. One can only imagine the kind of loyalty he’ll foster in that locker room if he starts winning.
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