Many members of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ organization have taken to social media over the last day to chime in with their thoughts on the team acquiring Justin Fields in a trade with the Chicago Bears on Saturday evening. One that came through this afternoon was former Steelers OC Todd Haley who reacted to the trade, calling it a “double steal,” referring to Fields and Russell Wilson the weekend prior. He elaborated on his Fields thoughts in a second post on X.
“I would hate to be a DC preparing to play @DangeRussWilson and Fields. I see a series a half for Fields that brings different element. Not enough practice time,” Haley wrote.
The Steelers have reportedly notified both Wilson and Fields of the quarterback situation, with Fields being the clear backup to Wilson at this point in time. That doesn’t mean they can’t get creative in utilizing Fields off the bench, however. They both have a similar skill set, but Fields is a much younger version that still has the top-end athleticism. He is a constant threat to break big plays with his legs. Just look at this posted by our Alex Kozora on X.
Back when Haley was the offensive coordinator, they experimented with some wildcat packages with Le’Veon Bell taking the snaps, and they even lined Ben Roethlisberger out wide as a receiver. This at least forced teams to prepare for that possibility, even if it wasn’t something they turned to often. Roethlisberger actually made some comments about those packages, viewing them unfavorably.
This would obviously be different than putting the ball in a running back’s hands, but the point remains. No franchise quarterback likes to have the ball taken out of their hands. If one costly mistake happens that turns the tide of the game it can be a huge detriment to the team, and that can be frustrating for the quarterback that is forced to sit on the sideline and watch it happen.
It will be something for Mike Tomlin and Arthur Smith to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of. There is no denying Fields has a unique skill set, and it would be a shame to see it put to use zero times throughout the season. Mike Florio recently said something similar, comparing Fields to Kordell Stewart and his usage from some of those teams in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Also to consider, Justin Fields has a conditional pick attached to him in the 2025 NFL Draft. If he plays 51-percent or more of the snaps, that sixth-round pick turns into a fourth-round pick. While a series or two per game won’t get him to that threshold, it would lower the bar in the case of an injury to Wilson and make the condition much more likely to be met.
