The Justin Fields discourse isn’t going to slow down anytime soon.
With the Chicago Bears holding the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, thanks to last spring’s trade with the Carolina Panthers, the Bears are in great position to grab one of Caleb Williams or Drake Maye. Therefore, they are also in a good position to trade away Fields and recoup some assets in the process.
One such landing spot that continues to gain some steam from at least a public support standpoint is the Pittsburgh Steelers for Fields.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter played into that Monday during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. He stated that Mike Tomlin “is a big fan” of Fields, which is well-known dating back to Fields’ Pro Day at Ohio State and that popular clip that circled around social media of Tomlin dapping up Fields and hyping him up.
Then, on Tuesday, Pro Football Focus’ Brad Spielberger added to it, putting a Fields trade to the Steelers as one of four major moves in the offseason that could shake things up. He doubled down on that on the latest episode of the “Yinz Know Ball” Steelers podcast with co-host Jon Ledyard.
“I think Schefter mentioned Mike Tomlin was specifically a fan. Cool. I can tell you this, I mean, as a person I could tell you Mike Tomlin’s a fan of Justin Fields, ’cause intangibly, he’s the exact player that every coach, but also like Mike Tomlin specifically, he’s first guy in, last guy out. He’s got a great attitude,” Spielberger said, according to audio via the podcast. “He’s the hardest working guy in the building. You’ll hear all of that. But I can also tell you, some people in the Steelers’ front office are also fans of Justin Fields.”
That may be true. Fields is a former top-15 draft pick with a great pedigree at the collegiate level, leading Ohio State to some impressive heights during his time in Columbus.
One such member of the Steelers’ front office that could be a fan of Fields is Mark Sadowski, the Director of Player Scouting. As Alex Kozora pointed out on Twitter, Sadowski was the Director of College Scouting for the Bears the year that Fields was drafted at No. 11 overall.
It hasn’t gone all that well in the NFL though. As a starter, Fields is just 11-29 with the Bears, and the fact that they’re willing to move on from him and reset the clock at the QB position is a bit telling, even if it’s the smart move.
But even if there are fans of Justin Fields within the Steelers’ front office, and the Bears don’t exactly have a ton of leverage to make a deal here with Fields, it’s still going to be an expensive acquisition from a draft capital and financial standpoint.
Spielberger projected a trade of a second rounder and a 2025 fifth rounder from the Steelers to the Bears to acquire Fields. A second rounder this year falls at No. 52 overall for the Steelers, which feels a bit expensive to acquire a quarterback with just one year left on his contract plus a fifth-year option.
Were the Steelers to make the move, they’d almost certainly pick up the fifth-year option, fully guaranteeing a projected $21,978,000 for Fields. Add the $3,233,448 he’s set to make in guaranteed salary for the 2024 season, and the Steelers would be taking on more than $25 million in guaranteed money before May 2 without ever seeing Fields play a snap in the Black and Gold.
That seems very risky. Dave Bryan laid out all the obstacles of a Fields deal in December.
Add into the mix that if the Steelers made the move to acquire Fields, it would be as the clear-cut starter over Kenny Pickett, which isn’t what Tomlin and Rooney stated multiple times since the 2023 season ended when assessing the quarterback position. Thoughts can certainly change, but making a move for Fields and making him the starter with no clear competition or backup plan doesn’t seem like a path the Steelers want to take.
This conversation isn’t going away anytime soon. Fields and the Steelers seem like a good fit from a stylistic standpoint. But financial implications are a significant hurdle, especially with the fifth-year option being fully guaranteed. We’ll see what happens, but right now, even with fans of Fields in Tomlin and some front office members, it seems rather unlikely that Fields is donning the Black and Gold in 2024.
