Will QB Justin Fields turn his career around with the Pittsburgh Steelers?
The Pittsburgh Steelers keep crossing things off their fantasy to-do list. After signing Russell Wilson and trading Kenny Pickett, they still needed to bring in another two or three quarterbacks. Meanwhile, the Chicago Bears were having no luck trading QB Justin Fields—indeed, the Steelers just shrunk their market. As it turns out, they shrunk it so much they cornered it and landed him for a future compensatory sixth-round pick.
According to reports, the Philadelphia Eagles pursued a trade for Fields before adding Pickett from the Steelers instead. That took yet another possible trading partner off the table, with reportedly a handful left, but who viewed him as a reserve. And with an aging quarterback in a budget deal, the Steelers, in a vacuum, seemed like the best candidate to outsiders. Inside, we knew that the Steelers were fans of Fields as well.
Combine that with the fact that they just made two trades that bolstered their draft positions. They felt comfortable enough with what they had to give relative to the reduced asking price, and, well, now Justin Fields is a Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback. But he is the backup to Wilson, at least for now.
Fields may believe that he should start this season with the Steelers, but he models his game after Wilson. He knows he doesn’t have much say over his playing time right now, so if he’s prepared to sit behind anybody, he could be willing to do so under these circumstances. But Fields obviously intends to start again in the near future, and right now he’s on the Steelers.
Now he’s sitting behind a bonafide starter, as least in Pittsburgh’s eyes. The Steelers told Fields that he is to serve as Wilson’s backup, but how do they see his future? They apparently envision a somewhat long-term arrangement with Wilson, as well, so is Fields a long-term reserve solution? Is he the heir apparent to Wilson in good time, or whenever he’s up to taking over? The simple answer is, like us, they don’t know. But what they’ve managed to do is give themselves two options more credible than they had before.
The Steelers’ 2023 season has been put out of its misery, ending as so many have before in recent years: a disappointing, blowout playoff loss. The only change-up lately is when they miss the playoffs altogether. But with the Buffalo Bills stamping them out in the Wildcard Round, they have another long offseason ahead.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Does Russell Wilson make them a Super Bowl-caliber team, or are they wasting a year? Will he play just one season in Pittsburgh before moving on, or the Steelers moving on from him? How will the team address the depth chart?
The Steelers are swirling with more questions this offseason than usual, frankly, though the major free agent list is less substantial than usual. It’s just a matter of…what happens next? Where do they go from here? How do they find the way forward?
