With the offseason in full swing, many NFL teams are facing difficult situations with pending free agents. Each team has the option of placing the franchise tag on one of those players in order to not lose them. The Pittsburgh Steelers could choose to do this with Russell Wilson or Justin Fields so they can secure at least one of the quarterbacks for 2025. However, former Steelers corner Bryant McFadden, who wants the team to keep Fields, believes that should be their last resort.
“You’ve gotta find a way to negotiate, most importantly, because the tag for a quarterback is around, I think, $40 million,” McFadden said recently on CBS Sports HQ. “I think you can get Justin Fields, if you were to extend him, at a lesser rate. The tag would be the last-case scenario, in my opinion.”
McFadden is totally correct here. This year, the franchise tag for quarterbacks is around $40 million. There’s a very low chance that Fields will get a deal that pays him that annually in free agency. The Steelers shouldn’t need to cough up that much money to keep him.
Although Fields is a young player who flashes at times, he hasn’t lived up to his potential in the NFL. The upcoming quarterback crop in free agency isn’t great, but that still shouldn’t cause teams to massively overpay for Fields. Unless the Steelers really feel like they have something special in Fields, they shouldn’t be willing to sign him to a deal that pays him that much money per year.
The franchise tag might only be for one year, but committing $40 million to Fields would seriously limit the other moves the Steelers could make in free agency. They aren’t just a quarterback away from being contenders. The Steelers have other major weaknesses at wide receiver, defensive line, and running back.
It would be nice if the Steelers could retain Fields, but not at that price tag. He very likely isn’t their long-term future at quarterback. They could still give him a decent deal, but $40 million is a massive number. The Steelers haven’t used the franchise tag since 2020, and Fields shouldn’t make them change that this year. Giving Fields that much money after only six starts last year would feel unwise.
