To say the quarterback room of the Pittsburgh Steelers looks a bit different from the end of the 2023 season would be an understatement. All three quarterbacks who started games last season are gone. Russell Wilson is now the starter and Justin Fields was added via trade with the Chicago Bears to be the backup. Was that always the intention, though?
Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette joined Randy Baumann and the DVE Morning Show on Monday. They discussed the flurry of activity that kicked off Friday afternoon when the Steelers traded Kenny Pickett away and whether Fields was part of the original plan for competition with Pickett.
“No, not in that regard,” Dulac said. “He may have always been part of their mindset to some degree, but not to come in as a third quarterback. And as soon as they traded Kenny Pickett, they went back and called the Bears again. So they had checked in with the Bears, look, I don’t know 10 times, two times, I don’t know. But after they traded Pickett, they went back to them and they were able to make that deal… Once they got Russell Wilson, I thought the deal was dead, except that now they needed another quarterback and they are bringing him in to be the backup.”
Pittsburgh had been tabbed at the start of the offseason as one of the most likely landing places for Fields by the media. It made some sense as well. He is young and has plenty of athletic ability. The biggest obstacle to the Steelers acquiring Fields was always the price. How much would it cost to make the move and what happens financially moving forward?
As Dulac said and as most people assumed, there was no chance for Fields in Pittsburgh once the Steelers came to an agreement with Wilson to be the starter on a veteran minimum deal.
Then came the fallout with Pickett. He reportedly did not take kindly to Wilson coming in and getting handed the starting role, so he wanted to move on. Once the trade happened with the Eagles, the Steelers were back in the same place (only with a better quarterback). They had one quarterback under contract for the 2024 season.
So just over 24 hours later, the Steelers got the deal done with the Bears to bring Fields to Pittsburgh. Not as a contender to start as many thought at the start of the offseason but instead to sit, watch, and learn behind Wilson.
