Now that Justin Fields is on the Pittsburgh Steelers, how will he be used? The Steelers are going to give Russell Wilson the starting reps during training camp at a minimum and potentially have him start Week 1. Then there’s the matter of the trade compensation. The Steelers sent a conditional sixth-round pick in 2025 that can become a fourth-rounder if Fields plays at least 51 percent of the snaps in 2024.
Former NFL offensive lineman Ross Tucker thinks Fields has a good shot to see the field a lot this season, though. On Thursday’s episode of the Ross Tucker Podcast, he discussed the Steelers quarterback discussion with Greg Cosell. He wrapped up their discussion with one quick thought about what Fields could be asked to do this season.
“I think there’s a decent chance he plays a lot in Pittsburgh and runs the ball a lot,” Tucker said. “[Mike] Tomlin’s not afraid to have a quarterback run the rock a bunch.”
Regardless of what you think of Fields as a passer, there’s no question he can be dynamic when he tucks the ball and runs. In 40 games, Fields has carried the ball 356 times for 2,220 yards and 14 touchdowns. That’s an average of 6.2 yards per carry. He even led the league in 2022 with a 7.1 yards per carry average.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has already come out and said that he expects offensive coordinator Arthur Smith to already be working on specific plays for Fields even if he isn’t the starter. Florio goes on to draw comparisons to the quarterback situation in Pittsburgh back in 1995. Neil O’Donnell was the starter, but the Steelers utilized a rookie quarterback with prodigious playmaking ability in Kordell Stewart.
Stewart was a dynamic running threat at quarterback much like Fields. He appeared in 10 games his rookie season and all 16 games his second season. He only attempted 37 total passes in his first two seasons, but he carried the ball 54 times and scored six rushing touchdowns. He also had 31 catches and another four receiving touchdowns.
What about Tomlin, though? It’s not like Ben Roethlisberger was a dynamic threat on the ground. It hasn’t been a big part of any quarterback’s game in Pittsburgh under Tomlin. The closest was Kenny Pickett, who averaged 4.3 yards per carry his rookie season and scored three rushing touchdowns.
Back in 2022, Tomlin spoke about how the running game has evolved due to teams using quarterbacks to run the ball: “So now you’re playing 11 on 11 football,” he said. As both a defensive-minded coach and someone who wants a strong running game, it makes sense that Tomlin would see the value of a quality running quarterback. Now he has the best one he’s ever had in Pittsburgh.
Circling back to Smith, he’s talked about how the most important part of a quarterback’s job is scoring points, and running the ball into the end zone is just as valid as throwing the ball in his eyes. So it makes complete sense that he would be looking to utilize every available player to revitalize an offense that had horrible production from the quarterback position the last two years.
Could Fields be the next version of Slash in Pittsburgh? It could make the best use of his athletic skills if the Steelers still want to roll with Wilson as the starter. However, there are plenty of people, like Jason La Canfora, who expect Fields to be the Week 1 starter. That doesn’t preclude the Steelers from still embracing his ability to hurt defenses on the ground, though.
Whether as a starter or as a threat on special plays, Tucker expects Fields to do plenty of damage on the ground in Pittsburgh. If he can improve as a passer, he could be the answer at quarterback the Steelers have been looking for since Roethlisberger retired.
You can watch the entire conversation about NFL free agency with Tucker and Cosell below:
