Throughout his 18-year Hall of Fame career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger knew how to make magic happen quite often. Whether that was after plays broke down, whether he was playing in the hurry-up, or when the game was on the line late, Roethlisberger found a way to make a play out of structure.
The Steelers hope that have that type of ability again in quarterback Justin Fields. After acquiring Fields from the Chicago Bears Saturday for a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Steelers have completely reshaped their quarterback room and are leaning back into that improvisational style that can make plays out of structure, fitting that mobile aspect that head coach Mike Tomlin has talked about often over the years.
Fields isn’t Roethlisberger — who is? — but his ability to improvise, play out of structure and use his legs when things get messy could be a real boon for the Steelers in the future.
Talking about the Fields acquisition on the latest episode of the “Move The Sticks” podcast with host Daniel Jeremiah, former NFL defensive back and scout Bucky Brooks was really happy with Fields landing in Pittsburgh because his style is a perfect fit for the Steelers’ identity moving forward.
“The magic for Justin Fields is the improvisational stuff that he brings, the run stuff. Say what you want about Justin Fields, and this is why I can’t say that he’s a bust. You don’t rush for almost 2,300 yards, have a thousand-yard rushing season and consider that quarterback to be a throwaway,” Brooks said, according to audio via the show’s omny.fm page. “Yes, it’s a passing league, but we have seen teams win where a quarterback can run. Look no further than the rival, the Baltimore Ravens, where Lamar Jackson jumped in as the quarterback and ran the Ravens into the postseason. So there’s a blueprint that the Pittsburgh Steelers can follow.
“If Justin Fields has limitations in the passing game that you can’t correct, he can run it during his prime to help them. So for me, it makes perfect sense because it fits the identity of the Pittsburgh Steelers. It works.”
To date, Fields has rushed for 2,220 yards and scored 14 touchdowns on the ground. That includes an incredible 2022 season in which he rushed for 1,143 yards and eight touchdowns, putting together a rather impressive second season in the NFL.
Though he’s had some issues as a passer overall, his ability to make plays with his legs inside and out of structure (designed runs, scrambles) is a major weapon for an offense moving forward.
That’s something the Steelers have not had, especially designed runs. With new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith in the fold, we’ll see if he’s able to scheme up some specific packages for Fields behind Russell Wilson, taking advantage of Fields’ ability with the football in his hands. His ability to run and create explosive plays fits in well with Pittsburgh’s run-first identity, now and into the future, which has Brooks loving the landing spot for the former first-round draft pick.
