After seeing both take the field in 2024, the Pittsburgh Steelers once again need to decide between Justin Fields and Russell Wilson. Both pending free agents, the odds of retaining both are slim. ESPN’s Louis Riddick thinks offensive coordinator Arthur Smith would prefer to have Fields.
“I haven’t talked to Arthur Smith about this, although I know how he feels about Justin Fields,” Riddick said Wednesday morning on Get Up. “I believe they would like to work with him and see if they can take his game to the next level, as far as being a pocket passer, and continue to develop that. Justin is still evolving his game. I’m just wondering whether or not Pittsburgh looks at it the same way.”
Riddick is right that Fields is still developing his game, and the 2024 season was a good example of that. Although the Steelers have their fair share of issues, they’ve been a much more stable franchise than Fields’ former team the Chicago Bears. Even though it was the fourth year of his career, there was noticeable improvement in his game. He bettered his accuracy and completion rate and cut down on turnovers.
The most interesting part of Riddick’s statement regards Smith. He did a good job working Fields into the offense to begin the season, especially since he took the starting role on short notice. This offseason, there’s reporting that Arthur Smith may prefer Fields over Wilson. And Riddick’s commentary hints those feelings haven’t changed.
Fields has obvious flaws in his game and is still searching for consistency. Still, the rest of his skill set gives him more of a chance to be productive while correcting those flaws. During his six-game stint to begin the 2024 season, it was clear that he was still developing aspects of his game, notably as a pocket passer. Yet, he still won four games. He brings enough to the table aside from simply being a pocket passer that the Steelers can still remain competitive while he works some of those kinks out.
It’s well-known how dangerous Fields can be with his legs. And as passer, there has been improvement during his time in Pittsburgh. Fields put up career-highs in completion rate at 65.8 percent, and passer rating at 93.3. Fields also had career-lows in interception rate at just 0.6 percent, and sack rate at 9.04 percent.
By no means was Fields slinging the ball all over the field. However, these are all areas in which he improved under Smith. There are reasons the two might stick together. If Fields does return in 2025, even more progress could be on the way.
