After leading the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 4-2 record to open the season, it seemed like a certainty that Justin Fields would remain heavily involved in the offensive game plan with a package of plays. Since Russell Wilson took over, he has only logged 13 snaps across four games.
That means there were three games that he suited up for that he did not play, and three others where he was inactive due to injuries. Other than a couple successful plays off the bench, it hasn’t been the dynamic package that many hoped for when this topic was discussed so heavily in the offseason.
Former NFL GM Mike Tannenbaum would like to see the Steelers consider using him more when healthy to spark the offense after its recent struggles.
“I do,” Tannenbaum said via ESPN’s Unsportsmanlike when asked if the Steelers should use Fields more. “I’ve had the good fortune in my career of working with some of the best defensive minds from Coach [Bill] Parcells, Coach [Bill] Belichick, Eric Mangini, Rex Ryan — I think they’d all say the same thing. That when the quarterback can make plays with his legs, it just impacts spacing, timing, responsibility. Really becomes 11-on-11 football. So yes, I absolutely would do that.
“It doesn’t necessarily have to be 50-50, but I do think having the opposing defense prepare for both quarterbacks would only be accretive to Pittsburgh’s offense.”
Mike Tomlin spoke about the need to make whatever “necessary changes” to help fix the Steelers after their third-consecutive blowout loss. There aren’t many obvious personnel changes they can make at this point of the season, but getting Fields more involved could be something to consider.
Fields suited up as the emergency third quarterback against the Kansas City Chiefs after suffering an abdominal injury against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 15. With a long week ahead, it seems likely he will be available against the Cincinnati Bengals in the regular-season finale. At this point, there is no use in concealing any possible wrinkles for the postseason. If the Steelers want to use Fields more, they should start doing so in the final regular-season game to knock off the rust.
The issue is that when Fields got the greatest number of snaps off the bench this season, it was a negative thing for the Steelers. They put him out there against the Cleveland Browns during one of the most crucial moments of the blizzard game to do what Wilson does best: throw it deep. It didn’t work and left many scratching their heads at the Steelers’ plan to implement Fields into the offense.
They never quite figured it out, though it should at least be under consideration given the Steelers’ current skid. They need a spark from somewhere, and the successful implementation of Fields has a chance of doing the trick.
