NFL free agency begins next week, and the Pittsburgh Steelers have still yet to get a deal done with either QB Justin Fields or QB Russell Wilson. With Pittsburgh preferring to re-sign one of the two, the Steelers could wind up in a position where they lose both of their quarterbacks in free agency. With that in mind, CBS Sports analyst Cody Benjamin named Fields as the free agent the Steelers can’t afford to lose.
“They’ve got in-house replacements for left tackle Dan Moore Jr., whereas they’ve got no obvious or enticing succession plan at quarterback, should both Fields and Russell Wilson depart,” he wrote.
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Steelers are looking to get a deal done with their quarterback before the legal tampering period begins, which would serve a few purposes. For one, it gives the Steelers an answer at quarterback, which is their top offseason priority and allows them to start building out the rest of their roster. It also prevents Pittsburgh from potentially getting into a bidding war with other teams having the opportunity to talk to Fields and Wilson on Monday.
Fields seems to be Pittsburgh’s first choice, so not being able to re-sign him and having to move on to its second choice in Wilson wouldn’t be ideal. Of course, the disaster situation is the Steelers don’t sign either of them and are left looking for a solution in a weak quarterback market. That makes it all the more important to sign at least one of Fields or Wilson and do so sooner rather than later.
None of Pittsburgh’s other free agents outside of the quarterbacks are guys the team can’t replace. As Benjamin writes, they have an in-house replacement for Moore with Broderick Jones and Troy Fautanu. They can take advantage of a strong running back class and Jaylen Warren to replace Najee Harris, and the Steelers could find an upgrade over CB Donte Jackson. Elandon Roberts is someone the team should try to re-sign, but even if they lose the veteran linebacker, it’s not the end of the world.
Not being able to re-sign one of Fields or Wilson would make the quarterback room look a lot bleaker than it even did at the end of the 2024 season. With Justin Fields being the priority, the Steelers are going to work to get a deal done before Monday and hopefully lock in their 2025 starting quarterback by the start of free agency.
