Last offseason when the Pittsburgh Steelers signed veteran QB Russell Wilson to a one-year deal in free agency and then traded for young quarterback Justin Fields just a few days later from the Chicago Bears, the Steelers reshaped the QB room in a hurry under GM Omar Khan and head coach Mike Tomlin.
The belief was that coming out of the 2024 season, the picture for the Steelers at the most important position in sports would be clearer, whether that was Wilson grabbing hold of the job and running with it, solidifying it for a few years moving forward, or that Fields would take a major step forward and force the Steelers’ hands of being the guy to build around.
At times during the 2024 season, both seemed to be true as Fields played well to open the season with Wilson injured, leading the Steelers to a 4-2 record, taking care of the football and playing some smart, sound football. Wilson then took over in Week 7 and burst onto the scene, lighting things up offensively.
But down the stretch the Steelers lost five straight games, were knocked out of the playoffs in embarrassing fashion, and Wilson took a step back from where he was earlier in the year.
Now, the Steelers have another offseason upon them with questions at the QB position. For former NFL offensive lineman and FS1 analyst Mark Schlereth, who appeared on Breakfast Ball Monday morning, the Steelers are in the same exact spot they were in last offseason, which isn’t good.
“We all know, and they know, what Russell Wilson is. Like, Russell Wilson is who we thought he was. And it’s been that way for about five years now. You don’t know what you have in Justin Fields. You’re not a hundred percent sure he hasn’t developed. And you got an offense coordinator in Arthur Smith that…had a miraculous turnaround with a guy named Ryan Tannehill,” Schlereth said of the Steelers and where they are entering the offseason at QB, according to video via FS1. “Now you walk into this offseason going, ‘I know what Russell is.’ Is he the future of your franchise? No.
“Did you develop Justin Fields within that offense? You didn’t either. So right now, you walk into the same position you were in last offseason.”
Throughout much of the season, it seemed like it was going to be a no-brainer for the Steelers to re-sign Wilson to be the starting quarterback in the Steel City for the foreseeable future. That was reported shortly after he signed in March, and then his play on the field from Weeks 7 to 13 seemingly solidified that.
Then in December, Wilson regressed. He started turning the ball over, was taking bad sacks and making puzzling decisions late in games from a clock-management situation, which played major factors in the five-game losing streak that occurred to end the season.
While he was solid in the loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card Round to close the season, he started slow and really didn’t come alive until the game was all but over, throwing a 30-yard touchdown pass to Van Jefferson down 21-0 and a 36-yard touchdown pass to George Pickens down 28-7.
Now, his future in Pittsburgh is up in the air, and rightfully so.
As for Fields, the first six games of the season were strong from the former No. 11 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. He was able to show off his legs at the position, took care of the football and was really good in the red zone. But in those first six games, something was missing, which led to Mike Tomlin making the change to Wilson to see if he could give the Steelers an extra boost.
Early on, he did. But it all fell off late in the year. Now, with Wilson and Fields set to hit free agency, the Steelers are seemingly back at square one at the position. They have no clear path for the future, no definitive answer on Fields, and no real comfort in potentially signing up for multiple years of Wilson.
It’s a tough place to be in, but the Steelers put themselves in this position. They have to find a way out of it, and fast, or the mediocrity will remain.
