At one point during the 2024 season, people finally started to view the Pittsburgh Steelers as Super Bowl contenders. Then, everything fell apart. Now, the Steelers are back in the same position they have been for multiple offseasons in a row. They’ve got talent, but no quarterback, and don’t look capable of contending for a championship anytime soon. Former NFL defensive end Chris Canty does think re-signing Justin Fields would give the Steelers some hope for the future.
“I don’t think the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to contend for a championship with Justin Fields, or Aaron Rodgers, or Russell Wilson, in 2025,” Canty said, via ESPN’s Unsportsmanlike on Thursday. “But that could be different in 2026, if Justin Fields is your quarterback this coming year.”
The idea of not contending for a championship is something the fan base is well aware of this offseason. Being dominated by their biggest rival in the first round of the playoffs shows just how far away the Steelers are. The only possible way the Steelers can contend for a title with any of those three options would be with a massive upgrade of the roster around the quarterback.
Canty’s suggestion shows the potential road map the Steelers can take, though. Pittsburgh could try to bring back Wilson, or any older bridge quarterback in a similar situation, and try to run it back. Going with Fields would be a step toward the future, though. As for Canty, he thinks the Steelers are going to lose in the playoffs anyway. However, he believes they might as well do it while developing a younger quarterback.
“There is a lot more opportunity, a lot more upside for the future with Justin Fields versus Aaron Rodgers,” Canty said. “If I’m gonna be one-and-done in the playoffs, why am I gonna be one-and-done with Aaron Rodgers, when I can be one-and-done with a quarterback in his mid-20s.”
The Steelers don’t want to go one-and-done with any quarterback. Yet, they just don’t stack up against the contenders in the AFC right now. The Steelers will never think they don’t have a shot at a Super Bowl, but this is a good argument. Fields showed significant progression in only six games as the starter in 2024. He formed a good partnership with Arthur Smith. All things considered he looked like a much better quarterback than he did with the Chicago Bears.
Truth be told, neither Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, nor any other QB on the free agent market is moving the needle for Pittsburgh. Another first-round exit is obviously not the goal. Still, it seems to be where the Steelers are headed. Doing that with Wilson or Rodgers puts the Steelers right back in the same situation next offseason. With Fields, there’s at least some optimism for the future.
