After Mike Tomlin announced that Russell Wilson would be the starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, he also said that teams should still be worried about Justin Fields. Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has shown that he can dial up some trick plays when he was with the Tennessee Titans and Atlanta Falcons, and it wouldn't be a surprise if he did the same here.
Fields has the skillset that works perfectly for special packages, and Smith teased The Athletic's Dianna Russini with the idea of using him in those situations.
“There's certainly a possibility,” Smith said. “There's a fine line. They're both dynamic players, and you want to use every resource available. Sometimes, you may have a great play, whether it's Wildcat [formation], gimmick-type thing, it's worked for us in Tennessee. Some other times it can stop the flow of a drive. And it's hard sometimes to ask people to come in cold off the bench, but certainly, the opportunity presents itself. Everything's on the table.”
With Fields' ability to use his legs to make plays, he could be in short-yardage situations at times. The New Orleans Saints do a good job of utilizing those packages with Taysom Hill.
Justin Fields could still be useful for the Steelers
When Mike Tomlin shared his reason for picking Russell Wilson, he also mentioned that his week 1 matchup, the Atlanta Falcons, should be prepared for Justin Fields as well.
“My friend Raheem Morris had better be ready for a Justin Fields package, I’ll just say that,” Tomlin said. “I don’t want to disclose any strategic approaches, but it’s probably too much talent to be sitting around watching all day.”
Tomlin could have been playing mind games with the Falcons, but it's also something that they should account for and may have to practice for. There's no way that Fields will be on the bench all season, and at some point, Tomlin will put Fields in for situations that suit him best. Short-yardage plays will be best for Fields since he has the mobility to win those plays for the Steelers.
Fields and Wilson had been battling all training camp for the starting position, but Wilson ended up winning in the end. Wilson spoke about winning the starting job after the announcement.
“I'm super excited to be here. Obviously, I came here to help us win. That's the focus. The best part is how hard we've all worked every day all the way from OTAs to Latrobe. We've got a great season ahead of us,” Wilson said.
Wilson has the experience in the league to lead a team and has the resume and stats to prove it, but Fields has the potential to be a solid quarterback for a team. In the future, Fields will definitely have the opportunity to lead the Steelers.
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