Russell Wilson still has the "pole position," but Justin Fields' play thus far at Steelers training camp is leaving an impression on Pittsburgh's higher-ups. Enough so that head coach Mike Tomlin recently said both quarterbacks will 'get an opportunity to compete' for the starting job.
A calf injury has considerably limited Wilson's availability during the first two weeks of practice, thus giving Fields critical opportunities to run the Steelers' first-team offense. Fields has largely taken advantage of those reps while showing the potential that made him the Bears' 2021 first-round pick.
"He's a dangerous football player with the ball in his hands," new Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith recently said of Fields, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "It allows you to get creative. Maybe you change up a little bit of a defensive game plan for him. Certainly he adds a different element."
Smith has asked Fields to play aggressively, and the results have mostly been good. During Friday night's Seven Shots portion of practice (a best-of-seven, deep red zone drill between the offense and defense), Fields led the offense to a 7-0 win.
"I've never been part of 7-0 in all my years here," Pat Freiermuth, the Steelers' starting tight end who is entering his fourth season, told Jim Wexell of Steel City Insider following Friday's practice.
The initial plan this season was for Fields to work on developing his game while sitting behind Wilson, who, like Fields, was acquired by Pittsburgh this offseason. And while is still the plan, Fields' performance at camp has apparently opened the door to a different course of action.
Justin Fields with a dot to George Pickens along the sideline!
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Specifically, Fields' mobility is something that fits Smith's offense like a glove. Along with showing off his arm, Fields' running ability -- whether it's been avoiding pass rushers, on improve runs on read options -- has shown that it could be a big element of Pittsburgh's offense.
"You're changing language on guys -- especially a young player, he's been in a couple systems now," Smith said about Fields. "So we're working through all that. But I've seen him, he's really operating the offense.
"There's a lot of things we can play to his strengths, and that's exciting. Sometimes were asking him to be aggressive, even in 7-on-7. You have to try to in practice. Nobody wants to see negative plays or if he just checks down. We got to see what he can really do and what he can see in the pocket and all that stuff. Him having more reps is accelerating that process."
It's also created the possibility of a legitimate position battle, one that may really get interesting when Wilson is back at full strength.
