The Pittsburgh Steelers have been rumored to be involved with basically every available quarterback this offseason, but Mike DeFabo of The Athletic reported this morning, in conjunction with Dianna Russini, that the organization is not involved in trade discussions for Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields.
Additionally, DeFabo reports that sources tell him the team is unlikely to pursue quarterback Russell Wilson should he get released by the Denver Broncos and that the team won’t target Kirk Cousins or Baker Mayfield in free agency.
“The Steelers are not interested in signing Wilson in the likely event he’s released by the Denver Broncos, a source familiar with the coaching staff’s feelings on the quarterback at this stage of his career told The Athletic. Additionally, Pittsburgh is not among the teams actively working to trade for Fields, league sources told The Athletic’s Dianna Russini. Pittsburgh is also not pursuing Kirk Cousins or Baker Mayfield in free agency, according to league sources,” DeFabo wrote.
After Omar Khan publicly committed to quarterback Kenny Pickett last week and talked about wanting to bring back quarterback Mason Rudolph, it’s little surprise that the Steelers don’t have interest in any of the big-name quarterbacks on the market.
We’ve talked all offseason about why it’s unlikely the Steelers make a splash this offseason at the quarterback position as doing so just didn’t align with Mike Tomlin and Art Rooney II’s offseason comments. Khan’s comments at the NFL Scouting Combine align with what Pittsburgh’s head coach and owner said, so the likelihood of the Steelers actually making a splash always seemed small.
Pittsburgh will likely look to bring back Rudolph and have him compete with Pickett, and if it can’t sign him, target a lower-tier quarterback in free agency like Ryan Tannehill, who also has experience working with offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. The Steelers may want to see how Pickett can perform with a new offensive coordinator. Matt Canada’s offense didn’t aid in his development and Pickett only played a game and a half with Mike Sullivan as the play caller before injuring his ankle and then backing up Rudolph after the latter caught fire to end the season.
The idea of trading for Fields always seemed unlikely due to the price in draft compensation and likely picking up his fifth-year option, and if the team signed one of Wilson or Cousins, they were going to be starting for the Steelers. Pittsburgh doesn’t seem to want to close the door on Pickett yet, so the moves were never likely to happen. With the legal tampering period kicking off in a week, we’ll see in short order just how uninterested Pittsburgh is, and what sort of QB move it might make. But with DeFabo’s report on top of all the other signs this offseason, it sure doesn’t seem like the Steelers will be bringing in a top starting quarterback.
