Should the Steelers create a package for Justin Fields to utilize his athletic abilities?
You’ve probably learned by now that the Steelers have two new quarterbacks in Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. The Steelers traded Kenny Pickett, released Mitch Trubisky, and moved on from Mason Rudolph.
You’ve also likely learned that the Steelers reportedly told Wilson and Fields that the former is the starter. They are not holding a quarterback competition this year; Fields is simply the backup quarterback. But that doesn’t mean he can’t be useful.
Fields is one of the most athletically elite quarterbacks in NFL history, including his sub-4.5 speed. In 2022, he rushed for 1,143 yards and eight touchdowns. Not only is he a deadly runner and scrambler, he’s tough to sack—even though he takes many. Indeed, for his career, he takes roughly one sack per eight dropbacks.
But if you put him in specialized packages, you can control the variables more. Whether he’s on the field by himself or with Wilson, you’re running a limited playbook. The Steelers aren’t totally unfamiliar with this concept. They even did it with Joshua Dobbs for a handful of plays not so long ago.
And frankly, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith seems like someone who can make that work. He’s not a big jet sweep guy or anything like that, but he’s interested in putting the ball into the hands of athletes. Look at what he did with Cordarrelle Patterson, turning him into a genuine running back. The parallels are far from seamless, but perhaps the idea merits some consideration.
Then again, playing your backup quarterback in that way unnecessarily exposes him to injury. Right now, they don’t even have a third quarterback, so they can’t know their comfort level with the third option. And Fields has suffered an injury every year thus far that caused him to miss games.
The Steelers’ 2023 season has been put out of its misery, ending as so many have before in recent years: a disappointing, blowout playoff loss. The only change-up lately is when they miss the playoffs altogether. But with the Buffalo Bills stamping them out in the Wildcard Round, they have another long offseason ahead.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Does Russell Wilson make them a Super Bowl-caliber team, or are they wasting a year? Will he play just one season in Pittsburgh before moving on, or the Steelers moving on from him? How will the team address the depth chart?
The Steelers are swirling with more questions this offseason than usual, frankly, though the major free agent list is less substantial than usual. It’s just a matter of…what happens next? Where do they go from here? How do they find the way forward?
