The Pittsburgh Steelers have one of the best backup quarterbacks in the league entering the 2024 season win Justin Fields. He has three years of starting experience and has the athleticism to make plays that very few quarterbacks are capable of. But maybe they don’t have to keep him on the bench waiting for an injury to happen for his opportunity to get on the field.
Robert Griffin III wants to see a red zone package for Fields with a catchy name.
“This year [Mike Tomlin] doesn’t have just one, but two dynamic quarterbacks that bring an element of playmaking with their style of play. So that’s why I wanna see the Pittsburgh Steelers utilize Russell Wilson and Justin Fields at the same time,” Griffin said in a clip from his podcast posted on X. “How do you do it? You create a red zone package for Justin Fields, call it the Field Zone package. Allow him to use his athleticism and his running ability to punch in touchdowns.”
The @steelers should create a red zone package for Justin Fields and call it the “Field Zone Package”. They can utilize his dynamic ability with RPOs, boots, keepers and nakeds to stretch the defense while utilizing him and Russell Wilson to the fullest this year. pic.twitter.com/Bu7ETKpHeB
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) May 22, 2024
The Steelers have had significant issues in the red zone as of late. Last year, they had the 25th-ranked red zone offense with a touchdown coming just 48.9 percent of the time. The offense was having enough trouble moving the ball as it was, so it was devastating to come away empty or with just three points once they entered scoring range. And that was actually slightly down from 2022 when the Steelers scored a touchdown 51.9 percent of the time from that area.
What would the nuts and bolts of that package look like?
“You can build RPOs off of that, which he excelled at in college,” Griffin said. “You can build boots and keepers and nakeds off of that to keep the defense off balance and allow him to stretch the field and it get his feet wet and allows him to have an impact on the game. He’s way too dynamic of a playmaker to be on the sideline the entire time.”
If this was actually implemented, it would sure give opposing defensive coordinators a lot to worry about and prepare for during Steelers week. Practice time is pretty limited these days, so having to spend multiple sessions working through the Justin Fields red zone package would create some logistics issues for teams.
The Steelers have every reason to want to see Fields this season, but if Wilson is performing well then there will be no reason to make a change. That is why a package like this may make a lot of sense. Get Fields’ feet wet within the offense, both to evaluate him for beyond the 2024 season and a possible second contract, and to give him experience in case Wilson goes down with an injury.
Fields told the media yesterday that his plan is definitely not to just ride the bench all season. He wants to compete for a job. If he loses the camp competition, then the only avenue he will have to keep competing is in specialized packages like the one RGIII suggested.
