The Pittsburgh Steelers have one quarterback under contract for 2025: the recently signed Skylar Thompson. Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, and Kyle Allen are all set to be free agents, and the future of the position in Pittsburgh is up in the air. Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger outlined what he would do to try and solve Pittsburgh’s quarterback conundrum on the latest episode of his Footbahlin podcast.
“I think another thing that needs to be bounced around at the quarterback position is, do you give Russ, I would go to Russ and be like, hey, are you willing to take $20-25 million for a year or two? If he says yes, then I would bring him back. If he says no, then I would go to Justin. Not let Justin know what I asked Russ, but ask would you be willing to take $15-20 [million] for a year or two?”
Roethlisberger views both Wilson and Fields as bridge quarterbacks and would look to a veteran like Sam Darnold if neither Wilson nor Fields took that contract.
“While you’re bridging and trying to find, while you’re still actively looking for a rookie quarterback or a young quarterback who would be your guy. If both those guys say no, I would try and find a way. Is there another guy available? A name that might need to get thrown around is Sam Darnold now.”
Roethlisberger also discussed the possibility of drafting a quarterback this year but said the Steelers would have to be okay with “taking some lumps for a couple of years” if that’s the route they take this year.
While Darnold struggled in his last two starts, it’s still likely that he’ll command a higher payout than both Wilson and Fields. If neither Wilson nor Fields re-sign, Pittsburgh dipping its toes back into the veteran quarterback market feels more likely than drafting a quarterback to start in 2025 since it likely won’t be able to draft a starting-caliber player at that spot in a weak quarterback class.
Fields probably has a little more upside than Wilson just because he’s younger. He played the best football of his career in the six games he started for the Steelers this year. If Pittsburgh thinks they can get more out of it, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to commit to him as the starter, at least as a bridge guy, while they assess the position long-term.
Signing Wilson on a shorter contract makes sense, but he might also want a three—or four-year deal to provide some stability. Given the way he played down the stretch, barring the playoff loss, the Steelers might not want to give him the money or tenure he may be looking for.
There are several avenues for how their quarterback search can play out, but the 2024 season was a failure, given that the team is back to square one regarding finding their future at quarterback. There wasn’t enough out of Fields or Wilson to definitively cement them as the guy going forward, and now the Steelers find themselves in the familiar position of needing to upgrade at quarterback but having no clear path to do so.
