Following a week of conflicting reports on the future of Russell Wilson with the Pittsburgh Steelers, ESPN insider Adam Schefter has the latest via ESPN’s Postseason NFL Countdown.
“Returning is a possibility, despite the fact that many have speculated that it’s not likely. There have been ongoing conversations between Russell Wilson and the organization about what to do in the future,” Schefter said. “That doesn’t mean it won’t work out clearly. He’s scheduled to become a free agent, but returning to Pittsburgh remains a possibility for Russell Wilson, as it does for Justin Fields.
“…They’ve spoken to Russell. They’ll be talking to Justin Fields, but there will be a market for Justin Fields, a number of teams interested in him, and we’ll see whether or not that includes Pittsburgh in his future.”
Wilson and Fields were brought in before the 2024 season with just one year on their contracts. This gave the Steelers flexibility to proceed in any number of ways, but the time for a decision is drawing near. The legal tampering period for free agency is a month from tomorrow afternoon.
While Jay Glazer and Dianna Russini both stated Wilson’s exit from the Steelers is likely, multiple local insiders maintained that the conversations were not over and there were still people in the building who were in Wilson’s corner. Notably, Mike Tomlin went “lone ranger” last season when he restored Wilson to his starting position despite Fields having the team at 4-2.
Given the recent reports, this isn’t a huge surprise from Schefter. The Steelers would be foolish not to talk to both sides right now. Fields looked like a better version of his early career with the Chicago Bears. He was the former No. 11 overall draft pick, so he is obviously going to have some interest in free agency.
If the Steelers told Wilson they were moving on, and then Fields ended up getting a contract the Steelers aren’t willing to match elsewhere, then they would have a huge problem in 2025. Skylar Thompson is the only quarterback under contract, and this isn’t exactly a draft class known for its quarterback talent.
There were reports at the top of last week that Wilson had disagreements with offensive coordinator Arthur Smith about his ability to check out of plays at the line of scrimmage. If those reports are true, and the Steelers bring Wilson back, they will need to work out whatever that disagreement was to get on the same page next season.
Bringing back Fields remains a possibility, but how expensive could he get if some of the quarterback-needy teams start asking for his services?
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport wrote this morning via NFL.com that the Steelers could be enticed to move on from both quarterbacks if the right veteran became available. In other words, nobody really knows at the moment what the Steelers plans are. That might even include a consensus within the building.
