The Pittsburgh Steelers tried something different at quarterback last year, signing Russell Wilson and trading for Justin Fields. Neither move was particularly successful. Fields looked fine in a handful of starts, but he still has obvious flaws. While Wilson started off well, he got worse as the 2024 season went on. Now, both players are pending free agents, leaving the Steelers without a starting quarterback for now. Analyst Robert Mays of The Athletic believes they could be a logical destination for Matthew Stafford if the Los Angeles Rams trade him.
“I think a lot of these teams that need quarterback, I’m not sure Matthew Stafford and what he would cost is the best solution for [the Rams],” Mays said recently on Scoop City. “Pittsburgh has a little bit of financial wiggle room. They could potentially do it.
“I think that’s the team I keep coming back to because I think them making these incremental steps doing these things, ‘Oh, Russell Wilson for a million dollars, that’s a good investment for us to make.’ It’s all very measured and reasonable. I think that them doing something that’s a little bit more aggressive and rash, I would like to see them do that because I think they need to do something to shake it up.”
Mays is correct that the Steelers trading for Stafford would be aggressive. Acquiring Wilson and Fields took little risk, not costing the Steelers much in the way of money or draft capital. Stafford would at least cost quite a hefty amount to have on the roster. He’s got two years remaining on a pretty massive deal, although he still looks worth that price tag.
Also, Stafford is similar to Wilson in that he’s getting close to the end of his career. He’s about to turn 37, making him older than Wilson. He hasn’t experienced a massive decline yet, but the Rams’ offense is better than the Steelers’, so he could struggle more in Pittsburgh.
Insider Dianna Russini, the host of the podcast, brought up how Stafford might not fit in Arthur Smith’s offense. Mays didn’t dismiss that but isn’t sure it would be a huge sticking point in getting that deal done.
“I wonder if you change what the offense feels like with Matthew Stafford,” he said. “I just think that they have, if I’m looking at a team that otherwise is set up to potentially win in 2025 and needs a quarterback as part of that equation, I think the Steelers make the most sense.”
On paper, Stafford to the Steelers feels like a perfect move. It wasn’t that long ago that the Rams traded for the veteran quarterback and watched him lead them to a Super Bowl victory. The Steelers might feel like they could see similar success with Stafford.
Unfortunately, the Steelers might not just be a quarterback away from a Super Bowl. Wilson wasn’t great down the stretch, but they had bigger problems than him. Namely, their defense fell apart when they needed it most. Stafford also isn’t the same player he was when he led the Rams to a championship. His body has a ton of wear and tear on it.
Mays isn’t wrong to say Stafford in Pittsburgh sounds appealing, but it’s extremely unlikely. It sounds like the Steelers are anticipating bringing back Fields or Wilson. Maybe they’ll inquire about Stafford if both those players sign elsewhere, but the Rams would also need to be willing to move him. It might just be too complicated to actually happen.
