Maybe EA Sports was just having a little fun at Justin Fields' expense. However, once Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren revealed in May that Fields was discussed as a possible kickoff return man, many NFL fans have believed that we'll see the quarterback take on that special teams duty.
It'd be surreal to see a guy who was drafted 11th overall to be an eventual franchise QB drop back deep for kicks. With new NFL rules, though, and Fields' dynamic skill set in the open field as a runner, it makes a lot of sense. Madden 25 gave us a brief, fleeting look at what Fields might look like in a new role.
https://twitter.com/EAMaddenNFL/status/1803805922826862743
Mutual X/Twitter follower Kyle Brandt does a great job breaking down all the new features, which makes it seem like Madden 25 isn't a glorified roster update with minor tweaks to the gameplay experience. Since College Football 25 is roaring back after such a lengthy hiatus, EA Sports probably figured it was best to up its game a bit with the Madden franchise. Sure looks like that's the case here.
New technology called "BOOM Tech" will give Madden gamers the most realistic tackling to date. That's really cool, since the animations for on-field collisions can be rather repetitive and oversimplified. It's neat, too, to have a superior variety of player behavior, juke moves, and generally better physics to make the simulation at least a little more life-like.
But not to be lost in this tidal wave of new features is the fact that Fields is essentially being written off as the Steelers' starting QB. I get why that is, too, because Russell Wilson has superior experience, far more career success, and just needs to play at a level similar to last season. History suggests Pittsburgh will win at least nine games as long as he does that.
Retired do-it-all feature back Le'Veon Bell piled on Fields' status as a second-stringer by highlighting how the young field general can't throw with anticipation even during offseason workouts.
https://twitter.com/LeVeonBell/status/1803488054977634747
Whether the late ball arrival was part of the drill or not, Fields sure could use some practice with routes on air at getting the ball out of his hands before the receiver comes out of his break. Otherwise, he'll be relegated to special Wildcat-centric packages with occasional throws, or to return man status.
Too bad Fields has never put it all together as a pocket passer. He looked way more comfortable at Ohio State in that regard, but the speed of the NFL game has him just a tick slow in terms of processing and seeing the field. Maybe this perceived slight by Madden is the last straw that drives Fields to beat out Wilson in training camp. Not holding my breath on that outcome, though.
Shall we not end this Madden 25 piece on a Fields-bashing downer? How about the life San Francisco 49ers tailback Christian McCaffrey is leading these days? Not a bad June he's had so far — and it won't be long until CMC's image is in millions of residences across the world when Madden 25 comes out on August 16.
https://twitter.com/FOS/status/1800547582252650700
