Free agency is a two-way street. For a player to re-sign, both parties must have interest. QB Justin Fields wanted to go somewhere else. The Steelers wanted to go anywhere else but QB Russell Wilson. Meaning, neither will return in 2025. Mike Tomlin says that’s the business of football.
Speaking to a gaggle of reporters during Monday’s owners meetings in Florida, Tomlin blamed free agency on not bringing either quarterback back.
“I don’t know if any component of it didn’t work out,” Tomlin said via Steelers.com when asked why things didn’t “work out” with Fields. “He’s a New York Jet. It’s free agency. That’s what this business is about. Had a really good experience with him. He’s a heck of a guy and a heck of a talent. And we had a good experience together.”
Traded for a Day Three draft pick in 2024, Fields went from backup to starter hours before the regular season began. Filling in after Russell Wilson aggravated a training camp calf injury, Pittsburgh went 4-2 across Fields’ six starts. Asking him to carefully manage the game, Fields showed growth compared to his three seasons in Chicago while utilizing his legs with five rushing scores.
But after being replaced for Wilson mid-way through the season and hardly playing the rest of the way, Fields wanted more assurances over starting in 2025. The New York Jets offered that and a better contract.
That left the Steelers with Wilson. They chose to keep looking, though Tomlin again cited the business-side of things playing a role in not retaining him.
“It’s free agency,” he said when asked why Wilson didn’t return.
A short answer that’s technically true but hard to buy. Wilson remained adamant about returning to Pittsburgh. The feeling wasn’t mutual. Whether it was related to on-field play or off-field rift with coaches, the Steelers passed on the chance to re-sign him and set their sights on Aaron Rodgers instead.
Signing a one-year deal with the New York Giants, Wilson will bring a positive impact to his new team, according to Tomlin.
“Man, Russ is class in every way,” Tomlin said. “He embraces all that comes with the job, formal and informal. They’ll get all of him.”
The true story of the presumed fallout between Wilson and the organization might come out one day. Reportedly, even Tomlin’s relationship with him changed for the worse. For the second-straight season, the Steelers have overhauled their entire quarterback room. It was the risk they took when they entered 2024 with all three quarterbacks on expiring contracts and the reality they’ve faced this offseason.
