Before the Pittsburgh Steelers replaced Justin Fields with Russell Wilson as their starting quarterback for their Week 7 game against the New York Jets, multiple knowledgeable individuals said that Fields was “not allowed to audible” or take full command of the offense as he guided Pittsburgh to a 4-2 record.
While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Steelers quarterbacks coach Tom Arth openly discussed what Fields was and/or wasn’t permitted to do as Pittsburgh’s QB1.
“We really did not limit [Fields’] calls at the line of scrimmage,” Arth insisted, as shared by Troy Montgomery of Steelers Depot. “We put as much on him in the first few weeks of the season, first six weeks of the season, as we’re asking Russ to do at the line.”
Numerous analysts, reporters and
even fans criticized Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin for going to Wilson after Fields won four of six starts as the veteran recovered from a lingering calf injury. Wilson subsequently went 2-0 in the lineup and, per the StatMuse website, helped Pittsburgh notch season highs in offensive yards gained over back-to-back games.
Specifically, Wilson’s ability to throw the deep ball is often mentioned as a big reason why Pittsburgh’s offense seemingly is thriving with the 35-year-old under center. Arth indicated that game plans executed by Fields are similar to what Wilson worked with across the team’s last two contests.
“The offense changes in certain ways depending on who your quarterback is,” Arth added. “I think that’s true regardless of what offensive system you’re in. But I wouldn’t say that there’s anything that we weren’t able to do with [Fields] that we can do now with [Wilson].”
As recently as Wednesday, Dan Graziano of ESPN mentioned that he “would not be surprised to see Fields play again this season, either as the starter if/when Wilson runs into trouble or even occasionally in games that Wilson starts.”
While Wilson seemingly cemented himself as Pittsburgh’s full-time QB1 ahead of the club’s Week 9 bye, it sounds like Tomlin and others in the organization want to ensure that Fields keeps himself ready to play if the one-time Super Bowl champion either suffers a new injury or reverts to the player he was during his worst days with the Denver Broncos.
