Pittsburgh Steelers QBs Russell Wilson and Justin Fields will both be free agents this offseason, and while it would be a surprise if the team didn’t retain one of them, it’s a possibility. Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio said on The PM Team on 93.7 The Fan that there’s a chance that both Fields and Wilson leave in free agency.
“They’re gonna have an exclusive window to do a long-term deal after the season with both guys. You’re gonna sign one and probably not sign the other. But if both of them get interest and they get close enough to free agency and the Steelers aren’t willing to pay, there’s a chance both of them go somewhere else,” Florio said. “The Steelers, I think, if they were admitting with candor what they’d prefer, they prefer Fields to be the guy for the future. There’s a much longer future with Fields than with Wilson.”
Wilson turns 36 on Friday, so his days as an NFL starting quarterback are numbered compared to Fields, who won’t turn 26 until March. Fields offers more long-term upside, but it will be tough to turn away from Wilson if he continues as Pittsburgh’s starter and leads the team to some success in the playoffs. Of course, that will also drive his price tag up, and the Steelers will have to decide how much they value Wilson and if they’re willing to commit to a contract that could pay him over $40 million per year.
Fields will likely hold value around the league as well, as he was solid as Pittsburgh’s starter over the first six games of the season. In addition to his starting experience with the Chicago Bears, QB-needy teams will likely value Fields and he will probably see a contract somewhere around $20 million a season.
It’s hard to believe the Steelers won’t pay one of the two of them, but if they think they can win with another option who might be cheaper, it’s not completely unfathomable to think that Pittsburgh could move on from both Wilson and Fields this offseason. It would probably take a poor second half, though, for the Steelers to seriously consider looking elsewhere at the quarterback position, and that’s not an ideal outcome.
It’s also interesting to hear that Florio believes the Steelers prefer Fields to Wilson, but given his age it would make sense, and the team seemed to like how he played early in the season. While Wilson provides a higher ceiling right now, that may not be the case in the short-term future, and it could lead to Fields becoming Pittsburgh’s choice as its quarterback of the future.
