Had the Pittsburgh Steelers not landed Justin Fields, former Baltimore Ravens QB Tyler Huntley might be Russell Wilson’s backup. According to a March 31st article from The Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Mary Kay Cabot, Huntley, who ultimately signed with the Cleveland Browns, was a potential Pittsburgh target prior to the Fields’ trade.
“Huntley was believed to have had a chance to sign with the Steelers in free agency, a source told cleveland.com, but became the odd man out when they traded for Justin Fields,” Cabot wrote.
Four days later, Huntley inked a one-year deal to join a jumbled Browns’ quarterback room. He’s now one of four on the depth chart joining Deshaun Watson, Jameis Winston, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
Pittsburgh has been familiar with Huntley throughout his career. Primarily due to Lamar Jackson’s injuries, Huntley has played the Steelers four times. He’s 1-3 against Pittsburgh, throwing more interceptions (three) than touchdowns (two) but his mobility was always a factor and he was suited well for the Ravens’ offense. Huntley’s most recent exposure to Pittsburgh came in the 2023 regular season finale, throwing one touchdown in a rainy and sloppy contest as Baltimore rested several key starters.
Under new Arthur Smith, the Steelers prefer mobile quarterbacks who can roll out, change the launch point, and be utilized in the designed quarterback running game.
Pittsburgh agreed to a one-year deal with Wilson before free agency began thanks to the Denver Broncos giving him early permission to seek out his new team. Hours after Wilson’s deal became official and he held his first press conference as a Steeler, Pittsburgh traded QB Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles. Reportedly, Pickett was unhappy about being the initial backup to Wilson and asked for a trade. One day after that, Pittsburgh struck a deal with Chicago, landing Fields for a 2025 conditional sixth round pick. It’ll become a fourth rounder if Fields logs 51 percent of the Steelers’ offensive snaps.
The Steelers rounded out their depth chart with veteran Kyle Allen to act as their No. 3 quarterback, showing the team prioritizes experience from top to bottom on their depth chart.
It’s not clear where Huntley will slide in on the Browns’ roster. Watson will start with Winston the presumed backup, leaving Huntley to battle Thompson-Robinson for the third spot, assuming Cleveland even carries three quarterbacks on their 53-man roster. Given that Huntley could be the No. 3 in Cleveland, it doesn’t seem like the Steelers adding Fields would’ve completely blocked Huntley’s chances, though perhaps Huntley realized his path to playing time was slimmer than Cleveland, who went through five quarterbacks in 2023.
But Huntley will be a free agent after the season and with all three of the Steelers’ quarterbacks likely saying the same (this assumes Fields’ fifth-year option is declined next month), Huntley could reappear on Pittsburgh’s radar in 2025.
