Many of the biggest knocks against Justin Fields during his three-year stint with the Chicago Bears, he improved upon during his six-game stretch of starting for the Pittsburgh Steelers last season. But the context of his starting tenure is important.
Russell Wilson was named the starter, and therefore the install on offense throughout the offseason and training camp was tailored more to Wilson’s strengths. It was evident in Fields’ first start in Week 1 when the Steelers avoided the middle of the field and played an ultra-conservative style of football on offense.
Even under those circumstances, Fields was forced into the square peg, round hole dilemma of playing in an offense built for Wilson. What could it look like if the entire offseason was centered on playing to Fields’ strengths? Former NFL QB Chase Daniel would like to see that happen in Pittsburgh.
“If I’m Arthur Smith and I’m the offensive coordinator, I’m retooling the whole offense to fit Justin Fields. He has it,” Daniel said via FS1’s The Facility. “Justin’s X factor is his legs. So I think that if you put him in an offense where you’re not asking him to throw the ball more than 20, 25 times a game, if you can get a run game, which they need badly, like the Jalen Hurts-style offense where you can just do exactly what’s needed.”
The Steelers’ intended identity of controlling the pace of the game by running the football and relying on their defense worked for the first half of last season before they fell apart down the stretch. But their approach isn’t likely to change, especially after watching the Eagles engineer a dominant victory in the Super Bowl with a very similar philosophy.
Could the Steelers be looking at the Eagles’ mold and think to themselves that they have a shot at something similar if they put Fields in the right situation? The Steelers are reportedly excited about the trajectory of their young offensive line, and their backfield is likely to have a new face given the many talented running backs in this upcoming draft class.
Just look at what the Steelers were able to do with Fields as their starting QB a year ago. In six games, they rushed for 789 yards (131.5 per game) and Fields rushed for five TDs during that span. They also managed to possess the ball for roughly 32 minutes per game.
Fields hasn’t been signed yet, but this has to be part of the discussion for those inside the building who believe Fields is the best option to move forward with in 2025.
