This is a problem the Pittsburgh Steelers won’t confront for at least six months. And maybe, hopefully, isn’t one they encounter at all. But given the upset apple cart that is the Steelers brand new quarterback room, one that brings as many questions as it does hope, there’s one we gotta talk about before getting lost in the season.
What if Russell Wilson nor Justin Fields is the Steelers’ answer?
It’s a realistic concern. Contractually, no one besides UDFA John Rhys Plumlee is on the roster past this season. That in itself makes for an uncomfortable situation, the top three on their depth chart pending free agents. Though the room is better, Wilson and Fields are upgrades over Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky, and Mason Rudolph; both come with concerns. Wilson hasn’t been a strong starter since 2021, while Fields’ career arc could go either way. Maybe he puts it together, maybe he’ll never live up to the first round hype.
The good news is Pittsburgh will get the season to explore it. Hopefully, ideally, and almost necessarily, one of them becomes the answer—that Wilson or Fields plays well enough to retain and start in 2025. If Pittsburgh can come away from this season identifying and extending one of them for that type of role, the signing and trading was successful. That’ll be the topic that consumes us throughout the fall.
But what if neither proves to be the guy? Or, at the least, there’s no evidence to show they can. What if Russell Wilson is just middling and not someone the team wants to lock up to a $35 million-plus average yearly deal? What if Fields struggles when he plays or sits on the bench most of the season? Sure, he’ll be used in specialty packages, run the ball himself, and throw a handful of passes, but a durable quarterback like Russell Wilson could start all 17 games and keep Pittsburgh semi-competitive. That would freeze Fields out of a longer evaluation.
As much energy as the local and national pundits have spent debating whether the Steelers should roll with Wilson or Fields, there is a third option. For next year, at least. That neither will be the guy. It could even be an admittedly less likely scenario in which Russell Wilson has a great year and takes more money elsewhere than what Pittsburgh is willing to offer.
The point is that there are plausible scenarios where Pittsburgh is back to the drawing board. A roster without a quarterback. It would put them in a level of purgatory worse than where they’ve been. Knowing they’re a franchise unlikely to tank the season and hold a top-five pick, they’ll miss out on the top prospects. And do you think they’re the team willing to pay Dak Prescott $60 million per season? Their moves for Wilson and Fields were aggressive, but they were also cheap; Wilson signed for the minimum, and Fields was acquired for a future conditional sixth-round pick. They were low-risk and certainly not all-in.
Though no decision is easy, if Wilson and Fields don’t prove to be the answers, Pittsburgh must go back to the draft. That’s where almost all franchise quarterbacks are found, and it’s how the Steelers build their teams. Identifying and acquiring that next rookie phenom won’t be easy, but it’ll be a “must” on the organization’s to-do list. Not all rookie quarterbacks need to be drafted first overall. Josh Allen went seventh, Patrick Mahomes 10th, Lamar Jackson 32nd. That’s a realistic range where Pittsburgh could trade up for an arm. If the opportunity makes sense, they must.
Entering the year with Wilson and Fields is uneasy. But it pales in comparison to the anxiety the franchise and their fans will face if the Steelers exit the season not confident in either player to lead them going forward. There’s a ton of football to be played before we seriously have that conversation, but it’s a potential reality that’s only six months away.
If not Wilson, if not Fields, then who?
Who knows.
