While the Pittsburgh Steelers committed to starting Russell Wilson to begin the season, Justin Fields could still play. Even head coach Mike Tomlin allowed for the possibility of “weaponizing” Fields’ talents, as he told reporters earlier this week. For a big-armed quarterback who runs a 4.44 40-yard dash, that doesn’t sound like the most ill-conceived strategy.
But former NFL WR Chad Johnson is not a fan of it. Teams have used sub-package quarterbacks in the past, and even the Steelers have dabbled in it. There was, of course, “Slash”, or Kordell Stewart, who frankly would have been a better fit for today’s league. In other words, using Justin Fields wouldn’t exactly be unique. But it would be disruptive, Johnson feels.
“That I don’t like. I don’t like the taking Russell Wilson out [of] the game, messing up the flow of the offense”, he said on the Nightcap podcast. “For quarterbacks, it’s about getting the rhythm and getting rapport with the receivers, the running game, being in the flow of the offense. And then having to come in and out of the game, I think it messes up continuity for a quarterback”.
A former first-round pick, Justin Fields has over 2,000 career rushing yards. He is a human highlight reel whenever he gets a chance to get into the open field. And yes, he can throw a football around as well.
There is no reason to question whether a Justin Fields package could be successful—of course it could. But that doesn’t mean that it’s a necessary package, nor that it’s a net good for the offense. If it does disrupt the rhythm with Russell Wilson, as Johnson suggests, the Steelers will have to reevaluate it.
And Johnson believes the Steelers will be fine with Russell Wilson without Justin Fields’ help. “The running game, Arthur Smith is there. He knows what Russell Wilson is good at. You play to Russell Wilson’s strengths”, he said “You play to the offensive strengths, and I think they’ll be fine. Hey, you got George Pickens. Move that motherfucker around and use him. George Pickens is one of those players that’ll make your job goddamn easy”.
Pickens, of course, should help make any Steelers quarterback’s job easy, whether it’s Russell Wilson or Justin Fields. A Fields package, though, would likely consist of a heavy dose of running plays, so I’m not sure how much difference that makes.
What I do know is that everybody on the team is saying the right things. Russell Wilson has endorsed the use of a Justin Fields package multiple times, as recently as this week. While he would prefer to be the starter, Fields has long been on board with such a plan, as well.
We will all have to wait and see what the Steelers intend to do with Fields, though. My guess is they do experiment with such a package and play it by ear. If they find that it is effective, they will expand its use. If not, they can always shelve it.
