Though the Pittsburgh Steelers and GM Omar Khan have made it clear that they have until May 2 to decide on fifth-year options for quarterback Justin Fields and running back Najee Harris, one decision already seems to have been made.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Steelers are not expected to pick up Fields’ fifth-year option.
Fields, who was the 11th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears, has a $25.664 million option, which would also become fully guaranteed for the 2025 season if picked up. Based on Schefter’s reporting, the Steelers won’t be picking up that option, which was expected after the Steelers traded a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to the Bears on March 16 Fields.
With the Steelers unlikely to pick up Fields’ fifth-year option, it will leave the former first-round pick entering a contract year. That could be challenging for the young quarterback who might not have an opportunity to showcase himself in a new situation in Pittsburgh for a potential new contract as he’s currently behind veteran quarterback Russell Wilson on the depth chart.
While the Steelers did trade for him and have talked him up as a potential quarterback of the future in the Steel City, that $25.664 million fifth-year option was simply too large of a salary for a quarterback who has to have a $25 million decision made on him for next season before even taking a snap for Pittsburgh.
The Steelers like Fields quite a bit, that much is clear. But there was never a realistic scenario in which the Steelers were going to pick up the fifth-year option at that price tag. Instead, the Steelers could try and work out a short-term extension with the Ohio State product, much like the Green Bay Packers did recently with former first-round quarterback Jordan Love, ensuring he’s under contractual control but at an affordable rate for the team.
Maybe that comes in the form of a one-year extension, which seems plausible from the Steelers’ perspective, considering they don’t have a quarterback on the roster under contract for the 2025 season. Of course, that assumes that Fields and his agent are comfortable with accepting an extension from the Steelers without playing a single snap to that point for the Black and Gold.
The decision to decline the fifth-year option is not a surprise from the Steelers’ perspective, nor should Fields be caught off guard or upset by it. But what happens next between the two parties is certainly worth monitoring as it’s a unique situation all the way around.
