There’s been a lot of discussion this week about the Pittsburgh Steelers potentially having a specialized package for quarterback Justin Fields after Russell Wilson endorsed the idea earlier this week.
On NFL Live on Friday, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said that multiple teams expect the Steelers to use Fields as both a runner and a passer in goal-line situations.
“Russell Wilson’s undisputably the QB number one. He’s not splitting reps. However, I’ve talked to multiple teams who expect the Steelers to utilize Justin Fields as a runner and passer in the goal line, think eight yards and in. Arthur Smith, the new OC, used Derrick Henry as a quarterback/passer when he was in Tennessee calling plays, so why couldn’t you use a guy like Fields with his big-time ability?”
Fields’ athleticism makes him well-suited for that type of role, and unlike Henry, who has four career passing touchdowns, Fields is a primary quarterback, so throwing the ball with him would obviously be much less of a risk.
🚨DERRICK HENRY PASSING TD🚨 #KCvsTEN pic.twitter.com/PH9xbJluum
— PFF NFL Podcast (@PFFNFLPod) October 24, 2021
But Fields is also big and tough to bring down, and his ability to move in space makes him a dangerous option in the quarterback run game. He offers more in that part of the game than Wilson does, so it would make some measure of sense if the Steelers wanted to explore that and maximize the abilities of both of their quarterbacks.
We saw Fields working on the read option in OTAs, and the Steelers can get creative with Smith as their offensive coordinator and find ways to get Fields out in space to take advantage of what he does best. There’s no doubt that the Steelers are going to be more creative with their offense, and it should be a lot better under Smith than it was under Matt Canada. We could see more creative wrinkles like using Fields near the goal line.
The fact that Wilson endorsed such a package is important because you don’t want friction in the quarterback room, and you need assurances that Wilson will be ok coming off the field and it won’t disrupt his rhythm. Given that Wilson already endorsed it, it wouldn’t be surprising if we got a glimpse of what the Steelers could implement with Fields when they arrive at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., for training camp.
