The move to trade a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to the Chicago Bears for quarterback Justin Fields has received quite a bit of praise for the Pittsburgh Steelers and GM Omar Khan.
Pittsburgh got a high-end talent at a bargain-bin price, giving the Steelers an experienced backup behind veteran Russell Wilson as the quarterback room was completely reshaped this offseason.
While it’s widely expected that Fields will sit all season and serve as Wilson’s backup, one question keeps popping up: What does that mean for not only Fields’ future, but the Steelers’ future at the quarterback position.
For CBS Sports’ Jordan Dajani, how Fields fits into the Steelers’ quarterback future is one of the most underrated storylines of the offseason in the NFL landscape.
“The Fields trade was obviously a major NFL storyline, but what exactly is the game plan here? Wilson is the front-runner to be QB1, according to coach Mike Tomlin. A bit of a controversial decision, sure. But also keep in mind that the Steelers have a big choice to make concerning Fields this offseason in picking up or declining his fifth-year option,” Dajani writes regarding Fields and the Steelers’ future as a storyline that is underrated. “We have no official word on this just yet, but it doesn’t appear Pittsburgh will pick up the option, which would pay the former No. 11 overall pick $25.66 million in 2025. So, it’s possible Fields will be in Pittsburgh for one year, especially if Wilson isn’t bad.
“But what if Russ is bad? Or just not that good? Did the Steelers trade a sixth-round pick to create a quarterback controversy and divide the fan base? … But bottom line, there are several unanswered questions that come with this trade.”
There certainly are several unanswered questions regarding the Steelers’ quarterback situation and Fields as we sit here today in late March.
As Dajani pointed out, it’s unlikely that the Steelers pick up Fields’ fifth-year option ahead of the May 2 deadline. Not at that price tag. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac reportedly shortly after the trade for Fields that it is not likely the Steelers would pick up the option, which isn’t surprising.
But that decision would leave Fields entering a contract year, which makes things a bit concerning.
Dulac also reported that the Steelers view Fields as the potential QB of the future for the Black and Gold, and if that’s the case, they aren’t going to let him get to free agency. So would they work out a short-term extension like the Green Bay Packers did with Jordan Love? That certainly seems plausible before the start of the season.
However, what would that mean for Wilson, who is on a one-year deal of his own? He’s near the end of his career at 35 years old, but Wilson said he wants to stick around in Pittsburgh long-term, and the Steelers would reportedly like to do a multi-year extension with the future Hall of Fame quarterback if all goes well in 2024.
But as Dajani raised the question, what if Wilson is bad, or is simply just okay and the Steelers are winning? If he is just okay and the team is winning, Mike Tomlin isn’t making a change at quarterback. And if they are winning and in playoff contention, it doesn’t seem likely that the Steelers would just all of a sudden change things up again next season and roll with Fields as the starter after sitting all of 2024, right?
It’s a fascinating situation for the Steelers. They believe in both quarterbacks and got both for cheap. It’s a good situation to be in, but there are so many unknowns for the Steelers, making it quite the interesting storyline.
