If you have two quarterbacks, you actually have none. Or so the old saying goes in football.
New Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback coach Tom Arth doesn’t seem to be buying into that saying as he oversees the competition between veterans Russell Wilson and Justin Fields in the Steel City.
Speaking with reporters Tuesday following the first day of mandatory minicamp at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side, Arth stated that he believes the Steelers have something really special in the quarterback room with the way that Wilson and Fields are pushing each other and competing.
“I think they know exactly what it is. I don’t think I need to stoke it [competition] all that much,” Arth said to reporters, according to video via the Steelers’ YouTube page. “But it’s fun. It’s fun. You see the back and forth. You see Justin go out there and make a big-time play and then you feel Russ, he’s looking for that opportunity to come back and it’s pretty cool to be a part of.
“And I think as you look at it, you have two players at such different points in their career, but both out to prove something. And I think when you have two talented guys that have had so much success in their football lives that are out to prove something, I think you got something really special.”
Wilson and Fields are at two different points in their career, yet are also staring down their football mortality, in a sense.
Wilson, who enters his 14th NFL season at age 35, is much closer to the end of his career than he is the glory days. He’s coming off a tough two-year stretch with the Denver Broncos that included an adversity-filled 2023 season under Sean Payton, one that saw him benched in a contract dispute despite strong play overall.
While he feels revitalized in Pittsburgh, stating Tuesday that he’s found the “fountain of youth” in the Steel City, he still finds himself in a bit of a competition with Fields, even while being in the “pole position” and viewed as the starting quarterback in general.
Fields, on the other hand, is coming off arguably his best season as a passer in the NFL, having put together some impressive games down the stretch in Chicago. Ultimately though, the Bears moved on, drafting Caleb Williams at No. 1 overall with the pick acquired in a trade with the Carolina Panthers.
The No. 11 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft is a dynamic weapon at the quarterback position, one who can make plays with his legs and hit the home run that way, but he needs to continue developing as a passer. Being in the same room with Wilson, a player he models his game after, is a huge help.
In turn, it’s helping elevate Fields’ game, which is also pushing Wilson. Iron sharpens iron, so the saying goes for head coach Mike Tomlin. That seems to be what’s happening in the quarterback room so far for the Steelers, creating a special environment for Arth in his first year with the team.
