The Pittsburgh Steelers could conceivably start over at quarterback next offseason. Both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields will enter training camp with 1-year contracts.
Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr, though, doesn’t see that happening. Regardless of how the 2024 season goes, Orr projected the Steelers to re-sign Fields on a 3-year contract that will be structured similar to Baker Mayfield’s latest deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“I think Fields started to really come on as a passer. He was better in two-minute situations and still has an excellent touch on the football,” wrote Orr. “I think with time, effort and good coaching, he could round into a consistent top-12 player at the position.
“That said, he is very much a free agent at the end of this season and has what so many quarterbacks do not: incredible movement skills and the ability to accelerate any offense where the run and pass are intimately tied together.”
Fields averaged 6.9 yards per pass with 16 touchdowns and 9 interceptions in 13 starts last season. He also had 657 rushing yards with 4 scores on the ground and 10 fumbles.
In games where Fields started, the Bears posted a 5-8 record in 2023.
The Buccaneers signed Mayfield to a 3-year, $100 million contract this past offseason. The deal included a $28.875 million signing bonus and a total of $50 million guaranteed.
Mayfield threw for a career-high 4,044 yards with 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while making the Pro Bowl during the 2023 season.
Steelers Projected to Re-Sign QB Justin Fields
Orr isn’t the first to weight in on what might happen for the Steelers behind center next offseason. Most recently, ESPN’s Dan Graziano predicted on July 11 that the team will be back in the quarterback market, looking for a new starter in March.
However, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac suggested before the draft the Steelers hope to sign Wilson and Fields to extensions.
“What they will do is, I think you will see them give [Justin Fields] a contract extension of at least two years to keep him around,” Dulac said during an appearance on the Steve Jones Show, via SI.com’s Stephen Thompson. “They didn’t bring him in for a one-year trial. And with Russell Wilson, the idea, both from Russell Wilson’s part and the Steelers’ part, is that they will sign him to a longer contract this season.”
Whether Fields will get a Mayfield-like contract, though, will greatly depend on how he performs this season. Mayfield needed to turn in the best season of his six-year career to land his $100 million deal.
Fields is in a similar position that Mayfield was last season — a former first-round pick not guaranteed to start. But Mayfield didn’t have to compete with an ex-Super Bowl winning quarterback.
Wilson may not be the long-term solution for the Steelers. But the team has continuously emphasized that Wilson is “in the pole position” to be Pittsburgh’s starter behind center in 2024.
QB Russell Wilson to Depart in NFL Free Agency?
Orr admitted that it’s “difficult” for him to “get a read on” Wilson and called him a “complex dude.”
Orr also wrote that he could have one of the great post-35-years-old seasons in NFL history. But still, he predicted Wilson to play elsewhere in 2025.
For his “way-too-early prediction,” Orr argued Wilson could be a fit for the Carolina Panthers next offseason.
“There’s no doubt the current Panthers staff did wonders with Wilson in Seattle,” wrote Orr. “If Wilson can’t make it work in Pittsburgh, could Carolina be an option in more of a veteran, mentoring role?”
It’s hard to envision Wilson sitting on the bench. He has started at least 14 games every season since he entered the league in 2012.
But if Wilson performs poorly enough to play his way out of Pittsburgh, then he may not have another starting opportunity next year.
