Steelers pending free agent QB Justin Fields will start next season—for the New York Jets, according to Zack Rosenblatt. That is the prediction he made recently as the Jets beat writer for The Athletic, one hopes with some degree of foreknowledge about the plausibility of such a claim.
In an article attempting to piece together how each quarterback-needy team will ultimately settle the position, Rosenblatt predicted a combination of Fields and Tyrod Taylor for the team he covers. And the Steelers didn’t even wind up with Russell Wilson—you’ll hate his prediction even more. But he admits it was a close call between Fields landing with the Jets or Steelers.
“There has been a lot of buzz about the prospect of the Jets going after [Justin] Fields and it makes some sense — he’s young (25), mobile and might have some untapped potential, even if he’s been inconsistent as a thrower in the NFL”, Rosenblatt wrote.
“The most likely outcome for Fields this summer is that a team like the Jets gives him a one- or two-year prove it-type deal loaded with incentives, which would give him a shot at a bigger payday (a la Darnold) in a year or two”.
Note that Rosenblatt writes a team “like the Jets” to sign Fields, which could theoretically be the Steelers. But under what scenario would Fields want a one-year deal? A two-year deal, perhaps, which is what the Steelers would probably offer. Pittsburgh rarely offers incentive-based contracts, but it make exceptions for quarterbacks.
It’s worth pointing out, as he does, that Justin Fields played in college with Jets star WR Garrett Wilson. They were Ohio State teammates for two seasons in 2019-20, Fields coming out of college a year earlier. That’s a little bit more significant than the youth football camps he shared with George Pickens.
A former first-round pick, Justin Fields could have his option of signing with multiple teams, the Steelers and Jets arguably being the most plausible. New York is preparing to release Aaron Rodgers, while Pittsburgh only has Skylar Thompson currently under contract.
Fields started six games for the Steelers a year ago, and in that time generally improved his value around the league after reaching a low point. They only gave up a conditional sixth-round pick for him, though it could have turned into a fourth-round pick. Justin Fields will want a full season to start, though, but either the Steelers or Jets would likely offer that.
One thing he won’t be able to control is what the team with whom he signs does in the draft. Last year, the Falcons drafted a quarterback in the first round after a making huge commitment to Kirk Cousins. Even Rosenblatt acknowledges that the Jets could still draft a quarterback if they sign Justin Fields. But so could the Steelers—just ask Mitch Trubisky.
