The Pittsburgh Steelers totally blew up their quarterback room this offseason, bringing in four new faces including Russell Wilson, Justin Fields and Kyle Allen. And yet, another total overhaul could theoretically occur in 2025 if things go wrong.
Neither Wilson, Fields nor Allen is under contract next season as of now. When asked if there are any plans to change that and extend one of the signal-callers beyond the 2024 campaign, assistant general manager Andy Weidl confirmed that the Steelers organization will take a wait-and-see approach as of now.
“I think you just let [the quarterback situation] play itself out,” Weidl told reporters on August 15. “You can’t worry too much down the road. You keep an eye on it, but you just take it one day at a time — watch these guys go out there and perform and evaluate and make decisions based on [the thought process that] at the end of the day, at the end of the season, you’ll know.”
In other words, the Steelers do not have plans to sign Wilson or Fields to a long-term deal prior to the 2024 season — which makes sense.
Wilson is turning 36 in November. He has barely played this summer due to a calf injury and he’s produced a 17-27 record over his past three campaigns.
It goes without saying that of the two, Fields profiles as the potential long-term asset. He’s only 25 years old and he still shows flashes of that franchise QB ceiling that he displayed at Ohio State.
With Fields, the problem has always been his consistency. Unfortunately, a mixed training camp didn’t accomplish much in terms of solving that riddle.
Instead, the Steelers will practice patience and let the on-field product determine their next move. A pragmatic choice, albeit an uncertain one.
Steelers Expected to Start Russell Wilson in Second Preseason Game vs. Bills
After logging several practices without a setback, Wilson is set to start against the Buffalo Bills during the Steelers’ second preseason outing. This was confirmed by head coach Mike Tomlin on August 15, assuming the calf injury doesn’t flare up at all before Saturday evening.
“If [the starters are] highly effective and productive and we get good quality work, we might move on from them to get more of an exposure to the other guys, and so that’s a template in which we work,” the Steelers HC stated.
Adding: “We had a two-series mentality [for the starters] last time out. This time out, we kind of got a four-series mentality.”
As for Fields and his expected playing time against the Bills, Tomlin made it clear that nothing is “etched in stone” as of now. Fields will obviously lead the second wave on offense once Wilson’s day is done, but it’s unclear if he’ll get four series of his own or something more substantial.
Justin Fields Says ‘Biggest’ Adjustment With Steelers Was Learning New Offense
Fields spoke with team reporter Teresa Varley after joint practices on August 15.
“The biggest thing for me coming in was learning the new offense and stuff like that,” the former first rounder admitted. “Of course, everybody has to learn the offense. So really just getting detailed with that and improving mechanics is always a big thing.”
“But the biggest thing was coming in and learning the ins and outs of the offense,” he reiterated.
As for training camp as a whole, Fields felt it was “a great experience.”
“You build relationships with guys on the team that I think I’m closer with now than I would have been if we would have done camp here and everybody would’ve went back home. So, I’m definitely glad we did that [in Latrobe],” he explained. “I definitely feel like the team is closer with each other. I think we got better each and every day, but of course, we still have things we need to work on.”
He concluded that “I think overall we had a good camp.”
