Arthur Smith: Justin Fields isn't a gadget guy, he's still a premium starter

At long last, the Steelers debuted a package of plays for quarterback Justin Fields during their Week 11 victory over the Ravens and had some success with it.

Fields played only three offensive snaps, but took two carries for 17 yards. He nearly sealed the game with a late fourth-quarter run on second-and-10, but started his slide 1 yard too early. Najee Harris gained that yard on the next play, allowing the Steelers to kneel out the victory.

In his Tuesday news conference, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith told reporters, “There’s a fine line” to how Pittsburgh wants to deploy Fields down the stretch.

“I don't view Justin as [being] in this role as a gadget guy,” Smith said, via transcript from the team. "Justin, to me, is we've got two starting quarterbacks. He's a hell of a football player, so if he can help the team, and there’s — [it’s a] fine line. … So whether you have the opportunity to wrap things up and just the way the game was going, we thought we would throw something at him and put another dynamic football player out there, that certainly helped us, helped us win situational football.

“I still view Justin and he is, I think, [a] premium starter in this league, so it's a fine line. You don't want to be a gadget guy, but he can help the team, and he is one of the better football players out there.”

While Smith doesn’t want to label Fields as a “gadget guy” and Fields certainly wouldn’t want that label either, Smith described the quarterback as willing to do whatever he can to help the team.

“Every great player wants to play when you're the fifth wideout or third or fourth tight end. That's what you want,” Smith said. “But I still view Justin as a premium starter, when you have two starting quarterbacks, it's a unique situation. Yeah, you don't want to overdo it. Every time he comes in there, [he's] not a gadget guy. He's a quarterback.”

Fields compiled a 4-2 record as Pittsburgh’s starter to begin the year before Russell Wilson got healthy. Wilson has now started the last four games, each of which the Steelers have won.

Fields has rushed for 248 yards with five touchdowns so far this season. He’s also completed 66.3 percent of his throws for 1,106 yards with five touchdowns and one pick.