Nothing appears to be capable of knocking the Pittsburgh Steelers off of their axis.
Despite splitting the starting job this season between two quarterbacks, the Steelers are 8-2 and alone in first place in the AFC North. Russell Wilson has started the last four games for Pittsburgh, going undefeated in that span.
That’s why fans were stunned when offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said that Wilson’s apparent backup, Justin Fields, was also a starter for the team.
“There’s a fine line to it. I don’t view Justin in this role as a gadget guy. Justin to me, we’ve got two starting quarterbacks. Hell of a football player, so if he can help the team,” Smith told the media in a video shared on Twitter by a Steelers reporter.
“And there’s a fine line. I’ve done it a little bit in my past. We did it down the stretch with Ryan Tannehill and Marcus Mariota, but different situation. So when you have the opportunity to add things up, and just the way the game was going, throw something at ’em and put another dynamic football player out there, that certainly helps us.”
Steelers OC Arthur Smith on deploying backup QB Justin Fields pic.twitter.com/XkbMkJdT54
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) November 19, 2024
Fans reacted to the statement on social media.
“He’s bigger, taller, stronger and faster. Fields should be the red zone and short yardage dual threat QB. It’s not “gadget” to improve the team’s odds of success. Also, no different than bringing Spencer Anderson in as part of their heavy package,” one fan said on Twitter.
“Smith is taking Fields with him when he leaves to become a HC again,” one fan speculated.
“I know we debated this earlier but I’d actually be shocked if they didn’t at least try to use Fields more in short yardage and goal to go situations this week given the quick turnaround and guys being banged up from Sunday. This is the week to try it and see how it works,” one fan added.
“You can tell art really likes Justin,” one fan added.
“Well I’m glad he said this lbs i hope the rest of the NFL views him as a starter too, assuming he’s not back with PIT,” another person responded.
It’ll be interesting to see who gets the bulk of the snaps on Thursday when the Steelers face their bitter rival Cleveland Browns.
