The quarterback position for the Pittsburgh Steelers is up in the air with both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields set to be free agents, and while Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said that right now it appears likely that Fields will be the Steelers’ starting quarterback in 2025, ESPN’s Dan Graziano said that Wilson could remain on the Steelers with a Baker Mayfield-type contract.
“The Steelers like Wilson, and they aren’t thrilled about the other options they’ll have on the offseason quarterback market. If Wilson will take a deal similar to the three-year, $100 million deal Baker Mayfield got from the Buccaneers this past year, he could stick around for a while.”
In the same offseason guide, the biggest prediction for Pittsburgh’s offseason was ESPN’s Ben Solak predicting the Steelers would re-sign Wilson to a Mayfield-type contract.
“The Steelers will re-sign Wilson, although not to a huge contract. There’s no reason to sign the 36-year-old to a four-year deal when he likely wouldn’t get any such deal on the open market. I’ll bet he makes it to free agency, tests the waters, finds tepid interest and returns to Pittsburgh on a three-year deal close to the value of Mayfield’s contract. I also predict Pittsburgh will draft a quarterback in the first three rounds in April.”
During the season, a Mayfield contract was floated often for Wilson, which would be a three-year, $100 million contract. But after Wilson struggled down the stretch for the Steelers, that talk had seemed to go away. But with a lack of good veteran starting quarterback options available, the Steelers could opt to keep Wilson, who played well after taking over in Week 7 before faltering over Pittsburgh’s final four regular season games.
Wilson did play fairly well in Pittsburgh’s playoff win over the Baltimore Ravens, throwing for 270 yards and two touchdowns in the Steelers’ 28-14 loss. While Pittsburgh could retain Fields for a little bit cheaper, the team did start Wilson over him this season and it’s fair to reason that they think Wilson is the better choice to lead them right now.
But while Fields is just 25, Wilson is 36 and there isn’t as much upside. After Wilson didn’t win a playoff game this season, the Steelers basically finished 2024 the same as 2023, with a 10-7 record and a Wild Card Round loss. Wilson also reportedly had some friction with offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, and if Smith is expected to return, that’s something that could be a factor in the Steelers deciding who will be their quarterback in 2025.
It’s still early in the offseason for the Steelers, and a lot more news will come out over their quarterback search. But as it stands now, it seems like the Steelers are still considering all options and could be open to bringing back either Fields or Wilson, depending on the price.
