The Pittsburgh Steelers’ decision-making apparatus within the organization has multiple layers. Team president Art Rooney II has the ultimate say on anything and GM Omar Khan and his front office staff formulate the plan and make most of the decisions, but Mike Tomlin is involved in the conversations as well given his 17-year tenure with the team. That process was likely put to work this offseason when the team moved on from former first-round QB Kenny Pickett and added QBs Russell Wilson and Justin Fields all within the first week of free agency.
All signs point to Wilson winning the starting job to begin the 2024 season, as he almost certainly gives them their best chance to compete in the short term. But general managers and front office execs are forced to have one eye on the future to make sure the franchise is moving in the right direction. And there is no doubt that Fields offers more potential in the long run as a 25-year-old approaching the end of his rookie contract.
“The team’s never bad enough to go draft a Josh Allen or to draft a Patrick Mahomes. They don’t get high enough in the draft to do that,” Ryan Clark said on ESPN’s Get Up this morning. “So this is their best opportunity, and if I’m in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ front office, I’m begging for Justin Fields to be the right one. Because at least that way I have a quarterback with a lot of upside going forward in the future.”
Fields may offer more upside, but he is only under contract through the 2024 season. In a situation where he sits on the bench for the entirety of 2024, it will be difficult to navigate his contract talks next offseason. Especially since there are reports of Wilson and the Steelers having a mutual interest in a contract extension after the season. At that point, Fields wouldn’t have much reason to want to stick around.
His market value was a conditional 2025 sixth-round pick, and that was after being a starter for the seasons prior. If he fails to play in 2024, that value could plummet even further, and he could be at risk of falling into the career backup category. We will never know the conversations that go on behind the scenes (unless Hard Knocks has something to say about it), but at what point does Khan start having conversations with Tomlin about making a switch to Fields during the season.
It would only happen if things were going poorly. Just the other day, Clark suggested the change could happen if the Steelers are falling out of playoff contention by the end of the season. With just one meaningless football game since 2012, that opportunity may never come. A lukewarm performance by Wilson that keeps him in the starting lineup but doesn’t elevate the team to at least a playoff win is the worst-case scenario. They would have no additional intel on Fields and the future of the quarterback position would still be up in the air.
It is one of the biggest looming questions over the franchise, one that could derail the remainder of the 2020s for another lost decade.
