The Pittsburgh Steelers do not have an experienced NFL quarterback under contract for the 2025 season. That needs to change before the start of the regular season, Mark Kaboly of The Athletic argues. It’s not practical to do that with Russell Wilson given the uniqueness of his contract. But Justin Fields is another matter, and some do think the Steelers will work out an extension.
“I think they have to” extend Fields, he said on 93.7 The Fan on Friday. “I don’t think you go into next season with a quarterback room totally empty once again. Then why even acquire Justin Fields in the first place?”.
“They’ll be able to tell, I think, over the next month or so during training camp and preseason, if the Justin Fields project moving forward is worth it and to make it worth his while to be able to sign here”, he continued. “The last thing you want to do is go into next year and all of a sudden and you look around again and, no quarterback”.
Technically, the Steelers went into the offseason with three quarterbacks, albeit one a pending free agent. Mitch Trubisky was still signed, but they decided to release him. They traded Kenny Pickett after he requested on in the wake of the Russell Wilson signing. That’s when they traded for Fields, and then rounded out the depth chart with Kyle Allen.
As a refresher, Wilson signed a one-year, Veteran Salary Benefit deal to come here—with a no-trade clause. The offset language in his contract with the Denver Broncos, who released them, stipulated that whatever salary he earns from another team this year they no longer owe. They owed him close to $40 million, though, so he had no qualms about signing for the minimum. He makes the same amount of money either way.
But as for Justin Fields, he is the young gun with “upside” and “potential”. But did he not make it in Chicago just because of the incompetence of the Bears organization? He noted himself that there is a different culture here in Pittsburgh, but will he be a different player?
You don’t want to go into an offseason with no viable starting candidates at quarterback under contract. Sometimes that’s unavoidable, but is this such a situation? Well, I suppose it depends on how high Fields’ expectations are for a contract. If they do get something done, I suspect it will involve considerable incentives.
I do think it’s possible that the Steelers work something out with Fields because they don’t like lame-duck positions. A few years ago, for example, they signed Mason Rudolph to an incentive-laden one-year contract extension knowing that Ben Roethlisberger would be retiring. Even though they ended up finding other options, they wanted to make sure one wat on the table.
Justin Fields could be the meal that’s on the table for 2025 by the start of the regular season. It just depends on how hungry they are.
