Though most of his time this portion of the year is spent focusing on the players of the future, lead ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. couldn’t help but react to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ decision-making at quarterback that allowed Justin Fields to walk. Wrapped up in the Aaron Rodgers’ saga like everyone else, a flummoxed Kiper couldn’t wrap his head around Pittsburgh’s path.
“I’m amazed that Justin Fields was allowed to leave the building,” Kiper said on ESPN’s First Take Tuesday. “That was just me. I thought Justin Fields 4-2, should have been 6-0 if the defense would’ve done their job. Young quarterback, mid-20s with all the talent in the world.”
Fields got the nod after Russell Wilson battled summer calf injuries. With Fields playing smarter and within the scheme, the Steelers led the AFC North through the first six weeks. An elite defense helped pave the way, but Fields did his job, cutting down turnovers and using his legs to finish drives.
Kiper’s reference to the two losses came against the Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys. The defense allowed a final-seconds touchdown against Dallas while taking time to adjust to Joe Flacco against Indy. But blame can be spread around in both defeats, games where the offense didn’t exactly light up the scoreboard.
Pittsburgh made a play to retain Fields, but he left the team to take a better contract, and perhaps what he perceived as a stronger opportunity, with the New York Jets. There, he gets a clean slate and reunites with WR and college teammate Garrett Wilson. Kiper thinks the idea of continuity and being able to build in one place would’ve sold Fields on staying.
“I’m just amazed that Justin Fields isn’t a Pittsburgh Steeler. I thought for sure, he even said at the end of the year, people said, well, he didn’t wanna be there. He said at the end of the year, ‘I’d love to be in the same offense two years in a row.’ And he wasn’t allowed to be in that same offense two years in a row because he was moving on to the Jets. So that was one that had me just scratching my head saying, ‘What the heck’s going on here?'”
That’s the risk the Steelers took when they entered 2024 with their entire quarterback room on expiring contracts. There was value in it, low-risk investments that gave the organization time to evaluate. But they lacked ideal clarity on the other side of the season and without the use of the franchise tag, didn’t have leverage to retain any of their quarterbacks.
Now, it’s looking like all three won’t return, making for the second-straight the team’s entire QB room has been turned over. Kiper, like many fans and perhaps the team itself, is wondering how Pittsburgh got into that position.
