Everybody has an opinion on everything these days, in case you haven’t noticed. Not that it’s ever been different, only we’re exposed to such a higher percentage of them these days. And one matter on which we get to hear just about everybody’s opinion in recent days is what the Pittsburgh Steelers ought to do about their quarterback position.
While head coach Mike Tomlin is set to address the media in his end-of-season press conference and will surely be offering some kind of thought or another on the subject, in the interim we have plenty of other opinions to go around. Analyst and former WR Keyshawn Johnson has just the remedy for what’s been ailing Tomlin’s team.
“In terms of quarterback fixing for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Mike Tomlin, here’s a guy that they should go get”, he said on the Undisputed program yesterday. “If the Chicago Bears are stupid enough to get rid of Justin Fields—go get Justin Fields, man. Go get Justin Fields and turn Justin Fields into what you should have gotten out of Kenny Pickett”.
Fields is a not uncommon name that has been linked to the Steelers, with both Dan Orlovsky and Chase Daniel having previously expressed the sentiment that they should pursue the former first-round pick. But the very idea comes with numerous hurdles, not the least of which being the financial one.
Dave Bryan laid out a month ago why he felt that those saying the Steelers should pursue Field should be safely ignored. And I think it’s reasonable to assume that Fields being in the Black and Gold in 2024 is on the unlikely side right now, though not wholly impossible—for better or worse.
What it is, though, is interesting. He did take some strides this past season, and frankly has a much better touchdown percentage than Pickett does. On top of that, he has already established himself as an elite runner from the quarterback position.
“Send him to Pittsburgh and Mike Tomlin and company. Back the truck up and go get that young man, and let’s see what Pittsburgh is in the 2024 year”, Johnson said. And he was also confident that, whether with Fields or somebody else, Tomlin would solve his quarterback problem and end the debate about his future.
“He’s gonna get the quarterback issue fixed”, he said. “And once he gets the quarterback issue fixed, we won’t have these conversations about what type of coach is he. We just won’t even have these conversations”.
Unless the solution to the quarterback problem is already on the roster, I’m not sure Tomlin is going to escape mediocrity in the immediate future. It does feel as though all their eggs are in Pickett’s basket, or perhaps some in Mason Rudolph’s as well if they re-sign him, hoping that a new offensive coordinator can unlock their full potential.
The Bears are 10-28 in the 38 games Fields has started thus far, including 5-8 this past year. He did average close to 200 passing yards per game. He also took a ridiculous number of sacks.
