We are only a few months removed from the endless talks of the quarterback carousel ahead of 2024 free agency, but that isn’t stopping the national media from getting a head start on the 2025 QB situation in Pittsburgh. The Steelers may have added both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields in free agency, but neither are under contract beyond the 2024 season. There is a very good chance that we will be talking about every available quarterback as a Steelers option once again next offseason. One notable quarterback who could become available is Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott.
ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler joined the This Is Football podcast earlier this week, and named the Steelers as a possible landing spot next season if the Cowboys fail to reach a contract extension with their star passer.
“I’m thinking of Pittsburgh, right? Like Russell Wilson, he might play great, but he is on a one-year, $1 million minimum deal, right? And Justin Fields doesn’t have his fifth-year option picked up. Maybe he’s a long-term answer,” Fowler said in a video of the podcast posted on NFL on ESPN’s YouTube. He then goes on to note that there would likely be eight to ten teams interested if Prescott becomes available.
That is no big surprise, as Prescott has been one of the best quarterbacks in the league in three out of the last five seasons. Last year was arguably his best work with a 69.5 completion percentage and 4,516 passing yards with 38 total touchdowns. He would definitely elevate the trajectory of the franchise, but there is a reason the Cowboys have been putting off signing him.
Trevor Lawrence was the latest quarterback to sign an extension, and he received a five-year $275 million extension at an average annual value of $55 million per season with up to $200 million in guarantees ($142 fully gtd.). Prescott has easily out-performed Lawrence, and some are projecting his average annual value to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $60 million per season. And with the nature of the quarterback market, that could creep even higher if anybody else signs between now and then.
“I don’t know that he would hit the $70 million-mark, but I think he would hit a huge number, but the structure and the guarantees would be crazy,” Fowler said. “He would have that sort of Kirk Cousins considerable leverage at a higher number. So maybe it is $60 million a year, but it is like ironclad guarantees where there’s not a lot of wiggle room for him to be bale to get out of his deal if he performs poorly or gets hurt.”
That would be a franchise-altering decision by the Steelers’ front office, but it would definitely elevate the franchise over the course of the contract. It would have other ramifications on the roster, however, as they would have less money to pay guys like George Pickens, who is due for a contract extension next offseason in a rapidly inflating WR market.
Going from a minimum contract on Russell Wilson to a highest-ever contract on Prescott would be a radical move, but maybe that is what the franchise needs to get back to their winning ways. Eventually they are going to have to pony up and pay somebody at the most important position on the team.
There have already been reports of mutual interest between the Steelers and Wilson for a contract extension after the 2024 season. That will be largely dependent on how he performs, but he won’t command the same type of contract that Prescott would with a five-year age gap between the two. This is also dependent on Prescott actually making it out of Dallas without an extension.
