While we all lose ourselves in the chaos that is the Brandon Aiyuk ordeal, the Pittsburgh Steelers have other big decisions ahead of them. Who will be their starting quarterback for the 2024 NFL season? Will it be Russell Wilson or will it be Justin Fields?
And could we see both quarterbacks during the season? What about in the same game? Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has praised Fields, but he won’t open up about potential packages to use him. What we do know is that Fields possesses incredible athleticism and can hurt defenses with his legs. That should be something the Steelers would lean into, especially in a run-oriented offense.
But Mark Kaboly doesn’t want to see Justin Fields just running the ball. He wants to see growth.
“We know he can run,” Kaboly said on Friday’s episode of the Pat McAfee Show. “He’s one of the best that’s ever done it. We don’t know if he can read defenses, go through progressions and throw the ball. You have to do that to be a successful quarterback in this league. You just can’t be a running quarterback because, you know what? Tim Tebow’s not in the league any more… The thing that I worry about is he’s so quick to that. If he can go through progressions, read the defenses, nothing’s there, then make your choice of being able to get out of some plays.”
Wanting to see growth out of Fields makes a lot of sense. It’s the only way that Fields is going to be in Pittsburgh past 2024. After all, just like Wilson, Fields is only under contract for this season. But if you listen to people who watched Fields during training camp taking extended reps with the first-team offense, there has been a lot of growth.
And head coach Mike Tomlin has been adamant that the Steelers are not going to try to stop Fields from using his legs. Why would they? NFL teams can’t afford to take something a player is good at and make them stop. If that’s what a team is doing, why did they bring that player on board in the first place?
Justin Fields needs to improve as a passer and with his decision-making. By all accounts, he has done so at Saint Vincent College during training camp. Tomlin even said that Fields has been working on his footwork in the pocket, and early results are promising.
But the Steelers would be making a mistake not to embrace the dynamism Fields can bring to a football team.
Oh, and regarding Kaboly’s Tebow comment? Tebow had a career completion percentage of 47.9. Fields has a career completion percentage of 60.3, and his percentage has improved year after year. I think it’s safe to say that there shouldn’t be any comparisons made between the two.
