While Russell Wilson is back in some capacity, Justin Fields has still run the show at quarterback for the Steelers. The fourth-year veteran continued to take most of the first-team reps and made all the throws. But he seemed to particularly like what he did when he wasn’t throwing.
“It’s super fun being able to show my legs off a little bit,” Fields said Tuesday after practice, via the Steelers’ YouTube channel. “Practice was definitely fun today. The first day of pads, so a little bit more energy out there, guys getting to hit. Me personally, I think I’ve been growing and getting better each and every day. That’s just the goal.”
A former 11th-overall draft pick, Fields is one of the most athletic quarterbacks to ever play in the NFL. He ran a 4.44-second 40-yard dash, which was the fourth-fastest by a quarterback ever at the NFL Scouting Combine. It’s worth noting that Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray didn’t run at the Combine when they came out of college.
But the point is, Fields has wheels, and the Steelers gave him some opportunities to show it Tuesday. For the most part, he had been conscientiously staying in the pocket through the first four practices. With the pads on for Tuesday, however, he took advantage of some read-option calls and made for the sideline. He has only continued to make similar plays since then, and should be fun to watch in the preseason.
In 40 career games, Fields has 2,220 rushing yards on 356 attempts with 14 touchdowns. He averages 6.2 yards per rush and 55.5 yards per game on 9 attempts per game. Those numbers are even higher the past two years as a full-time starter, 64.3 and 10.1, respectively.
While most believe that Fields doesn’t have a legitimate shot to unseat Russell Wilson as the starting quarterback, many also believe there can be an offensive package that utilizes his rare athleticism. Perhaps this past week’s practices gave us some idea of what a “Justin Fields package” might look like.
Alex Kozora noted a couple of moments during that first padded practice in his training camp diary. “Read option and Fields keeps it, tearing down the left sideline for a gain of 20,” he wrote of one play. “Damontae Kazee has the angle and escorts him out of bounds.” Since the pads came on, he has continued to make more use of his legs as a weapon, likely at the coaches’ encouragement.
Fields conceded that he “didn’t have time” to trash talk after beating the defensive backs to the perimeter. “I had to get ready for the next play,” he said. Kozora noted that he did have the time to flash a peace sign while scoring on a keeper in Seven Shots.
There is no secret about what attracts people to Justin Fields. They don’t talk about how amazing he is as a quarterback, but rather as an athlete. He is still developing as a passer, particularly in terms of mechanics and defensive reads, but he can certainly run.
Will he get a chance to run around in the Black and Gold later this year, or will he hold the clipboard for Russell Wilson? The Steelers only traded for Fields after Kenny Pickett asked for a trade, so he wasn’t Plan A. But they do seem to believe that he could be their future starter. And in the meantime, he has enough traits to make things interesting if he does get to play.
