In the moments following the 28-14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on the road in the AFC Wild Card matchup Saturday night at M&T Bank Stadium, putting a somber end to what was once a promising season, the attention for the Pittsburgh Steelers starts to shift to the off-season, specifically the future at the quarterback position.
Coming off the loss in the Wild Card round, both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields are set to be free agents at the start of the new league year. So too is third-string QB Kyle Allen, putting the QB position up for debate in Pittsburgh moving forward.
While the focus will be on the QB position from a contractual standpoint moving forward from the outside looking in, head coach Mike Tomlin wasn’t ready to assess things from that aspect.
Speaking with reporters following the loss, Tomlin wouldn’t get into the conversation about the QB position for 2025.
“You know, I’m not ready to take a big-picture approach. I’m really assessing what happened today, man. I’m certainly appreciative of their efforts tonight,” Tomlin said regarding the QB position, according to video via Steelers.com. “But I could say that largely for the entire season, the two quality people, three quality people at the quarterback position, man. And really appreciate what they poured into this.”
The Steelers came into the season with both Wilson and Fields competing for the starting job, even with it appearing as though Wilson would be the guy no matter what. Then, injury struck Wilson, forcing Fields to start the first six games of the season.
In those six games, Fields played well, took care of the football, and did enough to lead the Steelers to a 4-2 record. But then, Tomlin made the controversial change to Wilson ahead of Week 7 against the New York Jets.
The move to Wilson looked like a genius one for Tomlin and the Steelers as Wilson ripped off four straight wins to open his tenure and had the Steelers sitting at 10-3 entering December.
Then, the wheels fell off as the Steelers lost four straight games to close the regular season and then fell in the Wild Card to the Ravens, capping off the season. Wilson was signed to a one-year deal in free agency, while the Steelers declined Fields’ fifth-year option after trading for him from Chicago, putting him into a contract year.
Allen was added on a one-year deal in free agency, too.
Things didn’t end the way the Steelers were hoping, especially entering December. Now, it could be back to the drawing board for the Steelers at the most important position in sports. There will be time for that assessment in the days and weeks ahead, but shortly after the loss to end a once-promising season, it’s understandable that Tomlin wasn’t ready for a big-picture assessment.
