The Pittsburgh Steelers are glad to have both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields on the roster—for 2024. They signed the former to a one-year contract, acquiring the latter on the last year of his rookie deal. In Fields’ case, they had the opportunity to pick up his fifth-year option and declined.
Both moves are entirely understandable. Wilson’s specific contract situation made a one-year pact ideal, or indeed inevitable. Fields has 10 wins in his first three seasons, so they want to see him play before committing to him.
But the Steelers’ policy of placing a moratorium on contract negotiations in-season puts them in a slightly problematic position. If they hold true to that policy, then they have no power to exercise control of Wilson and Fields’ future in response to how they are performing on the field. And general manager Omar Khan made clear on Thursday that he intends to continue upholding that long-standing policy.
“I think it’s an awesome policy. That policy predates even before Kevin [Colbert] and I got here”, Khan said on 93.7 The Fan, while answering a question prompted by the contracts of Wilson and Fields. “Once we get into the season, I’m a believer it should be all focused on football. Obviously, there’s a business aspect to this, and that’s okay. That’s just part of it. But once we get into the season, it’s to focus on the season”.
Just because they won’t negotiate in-season doesn’t mean they won’t work something out at least for Justin Fields. We have heard suggestions that they will do so, in fact, though they can’t really do anything for Russell Wilson. And there is no practical football reason for them to without seeing regular-season evidence.
Khan basically committed to upholding the no-negotiations policy when he first got the general manager job. In light of that, his comments this week are not surprising, but the matter was worth revisiting. He likely had not envisioned the scenario he now faces with Wilson and Fields, which is fairly unlike any the Steelers have seen in the decades since adopting it.
“From my standpoint, I can just tell you I’m more worried about the quarterback for this year, and the rest of it will take shape after the season”, Khan said in the same interview when asked about the contracts of Wilson and Fields. “But I’m focused on 2024 and winning that championship”.
Russell Wilson is already 35 years old and has had three consecutive losing seasons. There likely isn’t even a very long-term commitment left to make in this relationship. As for Justin Fields, while he remains young and talented, he has not proven himself.
But what happens if Wilson looks like the Pro Bowler of old? Teams like the Baltimore Ravens have no qualms about working out deals in-season. In fact, they do it quite regularly. And what if Wilson struggles and Fields replaces him and turns the season around, pushing them into the playoff picture? According to Khan, under no circumstances would they consider working out an in-season extension, risking it until the offseason. For better or worse, that’s the policy, and it’s not changing.
