The Pittsburgh Steelers are unlikely to be able to retain both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields for the 2025 season, especially after Fields’ 4-2 start to the season. Reports have already indicated that Wilson and the Steelers plan on working together beyond the 2024 season, which could very well mean the end of Fields’ time in Pittsburgh.
Chase Daniel and Dianna Russini were asked on their Scoop City Podcast where they think Fields could end up going in free agency.
“I feel like the league’s sort of split on Justin [Fields],” Daniel said. “Some love him, some hate him. The only team that makes sense for me is the Las Vegas Raiders. To me, they are in a situation where you need somebody to step in and to sort of be a bridge-type guy. You can get him for pretty cheap. I would guess under $8 million a year would be my guess.”
That $8 million figure seems quite low to me. Keep in mind that Fields was universally praised for his development through the first six weeks of the season with the Steelers. Adam Schefter suggested a few weeks ago that Fields could end up being worth in the ballpark of $30 million.
I think that is probably a tad high, but the $8 million certainly seems low. If that’s the price tag, perhaps the Steelers do find a way to bring him back alongside Wilson.
The knocks on Fields after his three years in Chicago were his processing, consistent accuracy, and tendency to scramble rather than keep his eyes downfield. Oh, and he won just 10 games in three seasons. He showed significant progress in each of those areas. He has the highest ANY/A and completion percentage of his career at 5.86 and 65.8, respectively, with a five-to-one ratio of touchdowns to interceptions.
“I don’t know about this quarterback draft class. I’m really not sold on this draft class,” Daniel said.
There are a handful of teams every year looking for help at quarterback. Ideally, teams can play the long game and not reach in the draft or overpay in free agency for quarterback help, but some GMs and coaches will lose their jobs if they don’t show improvements year over year. All it would take is one or two teams to have interesting Fields, and he could receive a pretty healthy contract on a one or two-year deal.
