The legal tampering period begins one month from today, and if the various and at times conflicting reports are to be believed, the Pittsburgh Steelers are leaving their options open at quarterback between Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. Their lack of commitment can be viewed in a few different ways, but it might have something to do with the expected competition they will likely have for Fields’ services.
Adam Schefter reported on Super Bowl Sunday that Fields has a “number of teams” interested in him as a free agent. And why wouldn’t they be? He was the No. 11 overall pick just four years ago, he has many strong traits to be a successful quarterback and leader of a team, and he’s still just 25 years old coming off the best performance of his career in his six starts with the Steelers.
One team insider thinks the Steelers need to be expending all of their efforts into getting Fields under contract before the start of free agency, or else he’s likely as good as gone.
“I think they’re in the mode of whoever says yes first is gonna be their quarterback,” Kaboly said via the Kaboly + Mack podcast on YouTube. “What their pecking order should be is do everything you can do right now to get Justin Fields under contract, even if it’s overpaying slightly. You cannot allow him, in my opinion, to get to free agency whatsoever.
“But on his side of it, why wouldn’t he go to free agency?”
It’s a tough position to negotiate from if you are the Steelers. What can they really do to entice him to stay when he can test the market? And once he tests the market, is he as good as gone? The best leverage the Steelers have is the presence of Russell Wilson. They could theoretically tell Fields and his agent the offer that is currently on the table isn’t guaranteed to still be there once free agency starts. The last thing the team needs is to get stuck in a Brandon Aiyuk situation where they put all their eggs in one basket and then get left with no options when it doesn’t work out.
The lowest starting QB contract you’ll find is Geno Smith at $25 million per season with the Seattle Seahawks. Gardner Minshew and Sam Darnold are below that, but they didn’t exactly have a big market interested in their services as potential starters, even if Darnold ultimately worked out in a big way this past season.
Could the Steelers offer a two-year deal worth something like $32 million? That would be clearly below Geno Smith money, but a step above 2024 Minshew and Darnold money? That seems plausible, but that completely depends on how confident Fields is that a market in free agency could drive his price tag up.
Fields ultimately said he would like to return to Pittsburgh, but that is the political thing to say if you are in his position. It seems like he had a positive experience, and the Steelers clearly got the best out of him compared to his time with the Chicago Bears, but this could be Fields’ best opportunity to cash in if his career doesn’t continue to progress in 2025 and beyond.
“You have to go after the young guy that you think might be good,” Kaboly said. “He has the pedigree to be good. He just hasn’t done it yet, and take your chances then. If not, you’re gonna be chasing the quarterback position forever.”
