Arthur Smith and Justin Fields will share a stadium come Week 1. But not for the same side. While Pittsburgh waits for clarity on who its 2025 starter will be, Smith wanted it to be the quarterback who opened the 2024 season as the Steelers’ starter. Bleacher Report/Underdog Fantasy reporter James Palmer shared that nugget of information Wednesday.
“I will say this. Arthur Smith really wanted [Fields] to stay in Pittsburgh,” Palmer said during a Bleacher Report Q&A session. “He thought he could get him some playoff wins. That’s what Arthur Smith thought of Justin Fields.”
Palmer’s comments track. During Fields six starts while subbing in for an injured and rehabbing Russell Wilson, Smith repeatedly spoke highly of the dual-threat QB. Pittsburgh was careful with Fields and gave him plenty of structure and limitations, two things he needed after shouldering the burden in Chicago. Fields wasn’t asked to do much but showed improvement, cutting down on interceptions and improving his mechanics.
Mike Tomlin was reportedly the lone reason why Pittsburgh flipped to Wilson in Week 7. At the time, reports indicated Smith preferred to stick with Fields and build upon the first third of the season. Instead, Fields became the backup, relegated to a bit-part, packaged-play quarterback role. He threw just one pass the rest of the regular season.
Despite barely playing after Week 6, the Jets thought enough of Fields to make him the team’s unquestioned starter going into 2025. Compare that to a season earlier when no NFL team, not even Pittsburgh, considered him a starter. Smith helped change that and added to his reputation of developing failed former first-round picks, turning Ryan Tannehill in Tennessee into Comeback Player of the Year and Fields into something better than before.
“Extremely coachable, extremely bright. And the same thing as a play caller. The guy just wants to work, and that’s what you appreciate about him”, Smith said of Fields last October. “Like all of us, there’s things you’ve got to work on. Different things pop up week to week. That’s why we practice. That’s why we meet. I’m very pleased with him overall.”
It’s probably no coincidence that Smith was reportedly on the short list of candidates for the Jets’ head coaching vacancy, though he lost out to Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. Had that fallen through, perhaps New York would’ve pivoted to Smith and signed Fields in free agency, keeping the pair together.
Instead, Smith will wait for Aaron Rodgers or Plan B at quarterback. And Pittsburgh will likely use 2026 as its push for a franchise rookie quarterback, one Smith hopefully has as much faith in as he did Fields.
