4 for Friday: Addressing recent Steelers QB ‘controversies’
Steel City Underground presents “4 for Fridays,” an off-season series of articles focused on four related Pittsburgh Steelers topics and commentary for fans and members of Steelers Nation.
In the periods between mini camps and official training camp, news surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers thins out; the media is looking for communications to disseminate to the public. Granted, some fans love juicy tidbits about the team. Many, though, would rather watch paint dry than hear yet another rumor. So, let’s address four of the latest topics aflame across media channels and put them to rest.
Justin Fields signing was a mistake
That this is even being talked about after it’s a done deal tells you that either fans never wanted him in Pittsburgh to begin with (which certainly was not 100 percent the case as many fans were clamoring over wanting the Steelers to grab him as early as January 2024) or people – including analysts and sports media personalities – want to create a stir. There’s no way to quantify Fields’ worth, let alone determine if the signing was a mistake, since Fields is still learning a new offense under Arthur Smith at this time.
Mark Kaboly wrote an article in The Athletic that included his breakdown of who he felt was a “winner” versus “loser” of off-season workouts. Fields was placed into the second category. That merely indicated Kaboly felt Wilson will be the QB1 moving forward. It was fans who turned that into a “quarterback controversy.” And other sites began aggregating “news” that Kaboly was of the opinion Fields didn’t want to be in Pittsburgh behind Wilson.
That resulted in more-transparent sites, and podcasters, correcting the erroneous assumptions. And, yes, they were poorly drawn conclusions that even Kaboly directly denied as being out of context.
Mark Kaboly never said any of this about Justin Fields..
Omar Khan had a GLOWING response #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/MIccvzg6BX
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) June 20, 2024
The theme of Fields being a poor move was reignited when Ray Fittipaldo appeared on Press Coverage on SiriusXM NFL Radio, and said,”Fields, from what I’ve seen… he’s a terrific athlete, but really the knocks against him that I heard coming in actually turned out to be true. He’s not terribly accurate with the ball. His placement isn’t all that great, and I could see them maybe having a package or two for him each week…” Fittipaldo concluded Wilson would carry the Steelers offense as starting quarterback.
Fields isn’t a good quarterback
This further developed when former Pitt Panther alum (and NFL running back) LeSean McCoy said on Speak on Fox Sports 1, “You can’t tell me how bad he looked when he played here, played here, and then tell me on the other hand, like, ‘Yo, but he could potentially be really, really good.’ That don’t even add up… He’s not a good quarterback.”
McCoy, who retired from the NFL in October 2021, could hardly have much first-hand personal knowledge about Fields, as the quarterback was selected in the 2021 NFL Draft and didn’t play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (McCoy’s last team) until October 24. In the game, Fields did poorly, but it was Leonard Fournette and Ronald Jones in the Bucs’ offensive backfield.
McCoy didn’t play against Fields in college, so the opinion he gave is allegedly based on as much ‘insider info’ as any NFL fan has – game film, stats, and the ‘eye test,’ – in addition to what he believes his former NFL player IQ is.
Again, it’s too soon to definitively say how good Fields will or will not be for the Steelers. He has been working on improving, per his own statements, and hasn’t shown an unwillingness to learn from Wilson and others around him.
Justin Fields said he’s “definitely competing.. Russ knows that. We’re competing against each other every day.
“I definitely don’t have the mindset of me just sitting all year.” pic.twitter.com/pzI9rj5ldi
— Mike DeFabo (@MikeDeFabo) May 21, 2024
Fields as a kick returner on Madden
So, fans of the NFL have long been excited to play the next, newest version of the video game popularized with the voice (and image, on some versions) of John Madden. The EA Sports Madden 25 trailer was released, and suddenly #JustinFields was trending yet again.
In the official trailer, EA Sports has Justin Fields returning kicks for the #Steelers, with Fields then handing the ball off to Cordarrelle Patterson.
pic.twitter.com/Lc9mkX4d1K https://t.co/s0kc0uvxre
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) June 20, 2024
Assumptions. They’re funny. In the trailer, a Steelers player wearing jersey no. 2 is seen receiving the ball and handing it off to no. 84. Yes, the assumption is that it’s Fields and Cordarrelle Patterson.
First, it’s a trailer. I wasn’t able to get in contact with EA Sports developers to ask them if the players were, in fact, players on the current Steelers roster or not. I have, however, played the game for many years. In Madden 24, Jason Kelce (an offensive lineman) was my tight end, not Travis Kelce.
Also, because of the way the game allows each individual to fill their team using a trading card style player roster, the uniform numbers are not accurate. For example, I had three players that all wore no. 26 in the real-life NFL on my in-game roster Only the player at running back still had that number on their in-game jersey. The majority of my roster was a hodgepodge of jersey numbers that didn’t represent the real player. Don’t get me started on inaccurate skin tones or hair styles.
There is no QB controversy, really
Ask head coach Mike Tomlin or quarterbacks coach Tom Arth if they’ve got one guy etched in stone to be the QB1 for the entirety of the 2024 NFL season. I’m putting my money on the inquiry being a non-starter. It has been stated that Wilson has been put into the QB1 role, for now.
Training camp will ultimately be the place fans will want to visit to see who is competing at a higher level, and get a peek into any potential hints that the Steelers might have different packages that get both Wilson and Fields in on offense at the same time. Truthfully, there’s likely to be good competition among those in the quarterback group seeing as none of those currently rostered have been with Pittsburgh for long, at all.
The Steelers will carry three quarterbacks on their 53-man roster if recent history and rules in the NFL allow teams an “emergency quarterback.” While Wilson and Fields are the likeliest to be the top two, camp could shake things up. And, that is why addressing controversies is necessary at all. Fans and media won’t know what the team will do until they’re informed by the team itself.
