The Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves in an unenviable position when it comes to finding their quarterback of the future. It’s a situation they’ve been in before, but this year’s offseason might be even more confusing than last year. Pittsburgh got positive and negative moments from Russell Wilson and Justin Fields during the 2024 season, and now faces the task of deciding which one to bring back for 2025.
Or they could let both walk. ESPN’s Jeff Darlington seems to think that might be the best idea, supporting the notion on Thursday’s edition of ESPN’s Get Up when asked who he’d bring back.
“I’m gonna say no,” Darlington told the panel. “I don’t think the vibes were always awesome with Arthur Smith and Russell Wilson. I just don’t think that it was necessarily the perfect fit. Yes we saw optimism early on, that kind of diminished, came back to reality a little bit. I know they want to keep one of the two, Russell and Justin. I honestly think they probably should move on from both.”
There was optimism early, as Darlington alludes to, from both quarterbacks. Fields began the year 3-0, leading fans to push for him to be named the starter going forward. Then Fields stumbled slightly, winning one of his last three starts. Wilson took over once healthy, and he also saw some good moments as a starter, winning six of his first seven games. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, that turned out to be a fluke, and the team lost its last five.
Now, things are even more complicated. With a better supporting cast, Wilson may be able to take Pittsburgh on a deeper playoff run. However, constructing that supporting cast is difficult with Wilson returning. The Steelers got him for pennies on the dollar last offseason, something they certainly won’t be able to do this time around. The more money spent on him, the less for the offense around him.
As for Fields, there’s been talks of his market heating up as well. It would make sense for the Steelers to look at Fields more closely than Wilson. Since he’s 10 years younger, there’s at least a little hope that he could solve the Steelers’ QB problem for several years. However, his market might be hot, and he’ll likely want a taste of it since this is his first time hitting free agency.
If Pittsburgh lets both walk, as Darlington suggests, it’s a complete wild card as to who might lead the huddle in 2025. Aaron Rodgers and Sam Darnold both need homes. If Wilson and Fields sign elsewhere, the Steelers open up as one of the few quarterback-needy teams remaining. Or Pittsburgh could go the draft route. They won’t be able to grab Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward, but developing a Day-2 pick could pan out well.
For now, the Steelers enter another offseason hoping to fix a problem they just haven’t been able to solve.
