While the Pittsburgh Steelers are reportedly not interested in bringing in any of the big-name quarterbacks available this offseason, ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky thinks Pittsburgh should trade for the Chicago Bears’ Justin Fields.
On Get Up this morning, Orlovsky said that money shouldn’t be a factor if the Steelers have the chance to upgrade at quarterback.
“If you’re telling me the difference over the course of two years between Justin Fields and Kenny Pickett is $24 million, you go and get Justin Fields,” Orlovsky said. “Pittsburgh’s offense by far would be the most talented he’s played with. Pittsburgh’s offensive line started to run the ball really well, Arthur Smith loves to do that. The perimeter players are by far better than what he’s had over the course of his career in Chicago with some of the talent that they have. So if that’s the financial difference, that sounds like an easy decision for Pittsburgh.”
The $24 million difference comes if you account for the Steelers picking up Fields’ fifth-year option for 2025, something they would likely do if they gave up draft assets to acquire the former first-round pick. That would lock him in as Pittsburgh’s starter and would spell the end of Pickett’s tenure as Pittsburgh’s starter just two seasons after selecting him 20th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft.
But given the recent report that the Steelers aren’t interested in Fields or other quarterbacks that have been linked to them, like Russell Wilson or Kirk Cousins, it feels more and more likely that the Steelers enter offseason workouts with Pickett as the team’s starting quarterback with someone like Mason Rudolph, whom Omar Khan expressed interest in bringing back, or soon-to-be free agent Ryan Tannehill as competition.
While Fields might raise Pittsburgh’s ceiling just based off how he’s performed compared to Pickett over the last two seasons, the Steelers have barely seen Pickett in an offense that wasn’t Matt Canada’s. Given that, they may feel that it’s too early to move on and make a move to get a more established starter such as Fields. The fifth-year option decision is likely a factor as well although the Steelers would likely have minimal issues paying that cap number in 2025 if they truly felt that Fields was going to be a big enough upgrade at quarterback.
But their comments all offseason don’t align with the idea they’re going to make a splashy move and, in particular, a trade, as owner Art Rooney II said he doesn’t expect the team to make a blockbuster quarterback trade. While the assets given up for Fields wouldn’t make it a true “blockbuster,” he is still one of the biggest names on the trade market right now, and it would be the type of move Rooney said the team likely wouldn’t make.
Orlovsky isn’t wrong in thinking that Fields might be worth it for the Steelers at that price, but it’s not as if he’s a surefire upgrade. He struggles with consistency and decision-making, and if the Steelers truly thought he would definitively make the team better, they may be more inclined to make the deal. But it seems as if they want to give Pickett another chance to win the job and prove he’s a capable starting quarterback in the league.
With free agency and the draft approaching, we’ll have more clarity on Pittsburgh’s quarterback situation and maybe once and for all can put the quarterback rumors and discussion to bed as it pertains to the Steelers.
