There’s an old saying in the NFL that states that any team that has two quarterbacks, actually has no quarterbacks. That means that if a team has a quarterback competition, then it really doesn’t have a starting quarterback at all because both guys are going to be more worried about each other than actually winning games. It isn’t necessarily true, but the controversy it creates has been very real. Aaron Rodgers with the Green Bay Packers and Joe Montana with the San Francisco 49ers are both great examples. The Pittsburgh Steelers could technically fall into this category with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, but one former NFL head coach believes the Steelers won’t have that kind of trouble at all.
Eric Mangini was a coach in the NFL from 1995-2015, serving in a variety of roles, but most notably as the head coach of the New York Jets and then the Cleveland Browns during the mid-to-late 2000s. Appearing on a recent episode of The Herd on FS1, Mangini spoke about the Steelers’ quarterback situation, praising them for having two players who will force defenses to prepare in different ways.
“When you’ve got two quarterbacks who have unique skill sets, and you get them both for less than $5 million, it allows you to do a lot of other things with the team that can help you win,” Mangini said. “Both these guys have shown the ability to win. They’ve got weaknesses, but I think that you can combine them to put together something that’s hard for people to deal with.”
What Mangini is suggesting here is that the Steelers create packages for both quarterbacks in order to keep defenses on their toes. An example of this would be if Wilson wins the starting job, then Fields still gets on the field for certain plays designed for him.
This isn’t the first time someone has suggested the Steelers do this, with Fields’ athleticism being such a threat that could confuse defenses in the red zone. It could supply creative looks that could create sparks if the Steelers’ offense is struggling.
It’s been reported multiple times that Wilson is likely to win the starting job, so Fields could be relegated to sitting on the bench and learning as much as he can. Putting him on the field for trick plays could be fun but also dangerous. If he gets hurt, then the Steelers will be left with almost no depth behind Wilson. Kyle Allen has started in the NFL before, but no team wants to see its third-string quarterback take the field. It might be tempting to get Fields involved, but maybe those kinds of tricks should be saved for do-or-die moments like in the playoffs. Having Fields in for a random play against a team like the New York Giants in Week 8 would be a little silly.
If Wilson does win the starting job and he holds on to it for the whole year, having a secret Fields package could be the difference between winning and losing a playoff game. If Wilson falters though, it could be good to have those plays designed in order to help ease Fields into being the starter.
A long season looms ahead, and the results of this quarterback battle could have consequences that ripple throughout Steelers history for quite some time. The Steelers and their fans are hungry for a season better than just mediocre though, so hopefully whoever the quarterback is can lead them on a successful run.
