Drew Brees Suggests Taysom Hill Role for Pittsburgh Steelers' Justin Fields - Athlon Sports Skip to main content

Drew Brees Suggests Taysom Hill Role for Pittsburgh Steelers' Justin Fields

The Pittsburgh Steelers probably won't start Justin Fields early in the season, but that doesn't mean he can't contribute to the offense in 2024.

The Pittsburgh Steelers made the best of a bad quarterback situation over the offseason. With the Kenny Pickett experiment crashing and burning, a move was necessary, and two were made.

Pittsburgh signed veteran quarterback Russell Wilson to a league-minimum deal after he was released by the Denver Broncos and traded for former first-round quarterback Justin Fields.

Of the two reclamation projects, Wilson is the heavy favorite to start. But that doesn’t mean Fields can't contribute while he develops as the second-string quarterback.

On “The Dan Patrick Show,” former New Orleans Saints – and future Hall of Fame – quarterback Drew Brees envisioned a specific role for Fields.

“Justin Fields obviously has an incredible skill set and I’m excited to see how Pittsburgh uses him this year,” Brees said. “I would actually envision a situation where it’s almost like a Taysom Hill-type package like we had in New Orleans. Russell Wilson is your starting quarterback, Justin Fields is getting seven to 10 snaps a game.

“How problematic would that be for a defense?”

justin fields

Hill didn’t cut it as an NFL quarterback, but his athleticism and physicality kept him around as a hybrid gadget player. He excelled taking runs from under center, threw well enough to be acknowledged as a threat, and even caught the occasional pass.

In his seven seasons with the Saints, Hill accumulated 2,348 yards, 11 passing touchdowns, 2,159 rushing yards, and 27 touchdowns on the ground. As a receiver, he added another 756 yards and 11 scores.

In a part-time role, Pittsburgh would theoretically put Fields in a position to win by optimizing his athleticism and mitigating the sacks and turnovers that hurt him under center.

Perhaps that’s insulting to Fields, who can play quarterback in the NFL, even if consistency has eluded him, but it’s more reasonable than whispers of a quarterback-turned-return man.

Regardless, Fields seems likely to see playing time, whether he’s in relief of Wilson or spelling him for a play for a designed run.