The Pittsburgh Steelers have found themselves in quarterback purgatory again this offseason. This time, it is of their own making since they had Russell Wilson and Justin Fields in the Steel City only on one-year contracts. Thanks to an injury to Wilson, both quarterbacks had a significant amount of playing time during 2024, and Wilson seemed like the undisputed favorite until he lost the season's final five games.
While most fans now want Fields to be the starting quarterback in 2025, there has been a lot of speculation about what he hopes will happen. The assumption has been that Fields will want to test free agency and see what he can get. There are several quarterback-needy teams out there who would potentially be willing to make Fields a solid contract to come to their city.
Ray Fittipaldo from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette told The Fan Morning Show on 93.7 The Fan that the Steelers are meeting this week to discuss their plan for 2025 before the NFL Combine. That way, when they return from the combine, their focus can be solely on free agency and the draft. They can sign Fields now before free agency begins, and Fittipaldo thinks he should seriously consider taking their offer.
"I think he's gotta be careful," cautions Fittipaldo. "How many times, if you're Justin Fields, do you want to start over? He had at least two, maybe three offensive coordinators, in Chicago. He just had last year with Arthur Smith, and I thought it was a pretty good marriage for the six weeks they were together. If I'm Justin Fields and I have an opportunity to come back to the Pittsburgh Steelers and they let me know I'm their guy, I'm not getting to free agency. I'm signing that, let's say, two-year $30 million deal, and I'm telling the Steelers, 'Let's go.' If I'm your guy, let's go because I don't want to go to another place and start over. Going from team to team to team, that's not going to work out for the long-term. He'd be crazy not to do a deal before free agency."
Fields was drafted with the 11th overall pick by the Chicago Bears in 2021. It is no secret that the Bears organization has struggled in recent years. In Fields' three seasons in Chicago, he had two head coaches and two offensive coordinators. It would be hard for any young quarterback to excel while constantly learning new systems.
When he came to Pittsburgh, he expected to learn behind Wilson, but was thrust into the starting role. That meant learning another system under Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith. Despite all of that, Fields performed admirably. He got the Steelers off to a 4-2 start, and rumor is that Smith liked working with him and Fields wants to stay in Pittsburgh. If all that is true, the Steelers cannot drag their feet on this; they need to get Fields signed.
Steelers Never Say Never, But Never
Fittipaldo also addressed all the rumors about the Steelers acquiring one of the big-name veteran quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers or Matthew Stafford. He said he hates to say "never," but this is about as close to never as a team could get.
Many didn't think the Steelers would sign Wilson before the 2024 season, and they did, but Fittipaldo thinks this is different for a variety of reasons. The signing of Rodgers doesn't make sense, and Trevor Lawrence and Stafford would cost too much, considering the team's numerous other needs.
No one questions Fields' incredible athletic abilities. He gives the Steelers a possible future without breaking the bank.
