I’m not sure it’s possible for a quarterback room to look as different as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ does right now compared to just last season. All three quarterbacks from 2023 are out the door. Kenny Pickett was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles. Mason Rudolph signed with the Tennessee Titans in free agency. Mitch Trubisky was cut and subsequently signed with the Buffalo Bills for a second stint as Josh Allen’s backup. Now the Steelers have Russell Wilson and Justin Fields.
So has general manager Omar Khan fixed the Steelers’ quarterback problem? Dan Orlovsky doesn’t quite think so. He was asked that very question on Wednesday’s episode of First Take and he gave a thought-out response.
“Not figured out, definitely upgraded,” Orlovsky said. “To figure it out would mean that one or both of these guys, quarterback-wise, have really fixed their fatal flaw. Russell’s fatal flaw has always been holding onto the football…Justin’s fatal flaw is he’s always played slower than necessary.”
There is no secret that both Wilson and Fields have been sacked quite a bit recently. In 2023 alone, Wilson was sacked 45 times, the fourth-most in the league. Fields was right behind him with 44. Part of that, as Orlovsky points out, is due to how long they hold onto the ball in the pocket.
Of all quarterbacks who attempted at least 200 passes in 2023, Fields was first in the league with an average time to throw of 3.39 seconds, per Pro Football Focus. Wilson ranked fifth in the league with 3.10 seconds.
For reference, Atlanta Falcons QB Desmond Ridder (under now-Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith) had an average time to throw of 2.69 seconds, tied with Tennesse Titans QB Ryan Tannehill (who also used to play for Smith).
Smith himself has talked about what young quarterbacks (like Fields, obviously Wilson is 35 years old) need to do. One of the biggest points is getting the ball out of the quarterback’s hands efficiently. That’s the opposite of what either of these quarterbacks do right now.
Does that mean Smith won’t be able to work with them and have a successful offense? No, and that’s for two reasons. The first has to deal with Tannehill. Everyone points to the work that Smith did with Tannehill to resurrect his career in Tennessee. Per PFF, Tannehill in Miami never held the ball on average longer than 2.73 seconds his rookie season and over 2.61 seconds from there.
In Tannehill’s first season with Smith as offensive coordinator, he held the ball on average for 2.97 seconds. That number dropped to 2.64 seconds in 2020, but it would have been the second-highest number of Tannehill’s time with the Dolphins. So Smith does not seem to be dogmatically against his quarterbacks holding on to the ball for a little bit longer. Both Wilson and Fields will need to get rid of the ball quicker than they have, but they don’t have to join the top 10 in the league either.
The second reason is that Smith said in the above link that the point of playing quarterback is “ultimately putting the ball in the end zone, whether it’s through the air, handoff, or running it.” One of the most common refrains since Wilson signed with the Steelers is that he threw for more touchdowns in 2023 (26) than all the Steelers quarterbacks combined for the last two seasons (25). He also ran for three more touchdowns last season.
Now Fields has not shown as much in terms of throwing touchdowns as Wilson, but he has certainly thrown for more than Pickett did in his time with the Steelers. Fields threw 16 touchdowns in 13 games with the Chicago Bears last season and 40 overall in 40 career appearances. He also can rush for scores as well, something that Smith acknowledged is a viable way for a quarterback to score points. He had four rushing touchdowns last season, eight in 2022, and has 14 for his career.
Smith and the rest of the offensive staff are tasked with finding out if either Wilson or Fields can address their fatal flaws in Pittsburgh. There is no question that the Steelers have a better quarterback situation with Wilson and Fields in terms of league success (Wilson) and sheer athletic talent (Fields). Orlovsky acknowledged that. The real question is whether Wilson can be the solution short-term or if Fields can be the solution long-term.
If either quarterback can adapt to Smith’s offensive system well, then everyone will answer the question of whether the Steelers have fixed their quarterback problem with a yes.
You can watch the entirety of the First Take crew’s discussion below:
