The New York Jets signed Justin Fields to a two-year deal for $40 million.
That raised a lot of eyebrows but none more so than of Gerry Dulac who covers the Pittsburgh Steelers for the Post-Gazette.
“[Aaron Rodgers] going to the [New York] Giants makes zero amount of sense unless their offer is ridiculous. Which New York teams tend to do which is what we saw with Justin Fields,” Dulac said on “The Rich Eisen Show.”
“Justin Fields wanted to test the free agent market. I’m sure they [Pittsburgh] didn’t expect him [Fields] to get that kind of offer. Rich [Eisen], the guy won 10 games in three years in Chicago and played six games last year. That is not a quality body of work to get a $40 million dollar two-year deal, but that is what we see in free agency. That is what we see from teams like the Jets and the [Cleveland] Browns who make decisions like that,” Dulac explained to Eisen.
The Jets Insult Doesn’t Hit Home, Feels Like Sour Grapes
Pittsburgh team president Art Rooney II said in late January that his preference would be to bring back one of their quarterbacks from the 2024 season.
Before free agency, ESPN NFL Insider Jeremy Fowler reported that the Steelers preferred to bring back Fields over Russell Wilson.
The feeling wasn’t mutual.
After Fields led the Steelers to a 4-2 start they decided to yank the starting job away from him and give it to Wilson last season.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport revealed after the season that the Steelers’ decision to bench Fields in the middle of the year weighed on him during his free agent decision.
Dulac later admitted that the Steelers’ “best plan of attack” at the quarterback position would have been re-signing Fields this offseason.
“If it came down to Justin Fields or Russell Wilson I think [Arthur Smith] and a few other offensive coaches would have preferred Fields for a number of reasons. He’s only 26, we know Rodgers is going to be 42, his mobility, his speed, they saw that he did win four of those six starts to begin the season,” Dulac said.
Fields’ Contract Is the Opposite of Ridiculous
The new two-year $40 million contract that Fields signed is super reasonable not ridiculous. Fields’ $20 million annual salary places him No. 16 among the highest paid quarterbacks in the NFL, per Over The Cap.
Fields was widely considered the second best quarterback that was available in free agency only behind Sam Darnold.
Did Fields get more money than what was expected? Yes.
The projections by Pro Football Focus predicted that Fields would sign a one-year deal for $11 million. Instead he got a multiyear deal for double the money.
In free agency every player gets more money, especially quarterbacks. Despite that headline, Fields is firmly planted in the middle of the league in quarterback salary. Nothing cost prohibitive in any way.
The Steelers wanted Fields but he didn’t want them after being benched last year. Now he leaves to a new destination and the critics from the Steelers poke fun at his contract and body of work.
Yet in the same conversation Dulac hyped his youthfulness, upside, and what he could have looked like in a Steelers uniform in 2025.
Sounds like sour grapes.
NFL Insider Albert Breer revealed that the Steelers are “all in” on Rodgers but the problem is he isn’t all in on them. Rodgers’ preferred destination is the Minnesota Vikings.
If the Vikings don’t want him, NFL Insider Mike Silver said it’s possible that Rodgers rejects the offers from the Giants and the Steelers instead opting for retirement.
The jokes are being shot over at the Jets about their QB situation but the Steelers are the ones who could be left without a quarterback when free agency ends.
