Amid an assortment of notable rumors - Aaron Rodgers or Trevor Lawrence to The Steel City, anyone? - the Pittsburgh Steelers seem to currently view Justin Fields as the best bet to re-sign and return and have him start at quarterback in 2025.
He did, after all, do some promising things early last year before Russell Wilson took over. He does, after all, still have that first-round pedigree. He's still young (25) and ...
Well, he's a known commodity.
And it seems Fields is open to returning to Pittsburgh. ... but only under one condition, per a rather wild rumor.
According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, Fields - set enter his fifth NFL season and the free agency market - would like to come back.
As long as he is promised the job.
Wait. What?
According to Fowler, the quarterback wants "a clear path'' to the starting job in 2025 after having been benched last year for Wilson. That was a controversial move at the time, given that the athletic Fields, having been acquired after his mediocre career-starting stint in Chicago, was the QB of a 4-2 Steelers team.
What's Fowler saying here?
"This one's complicated because I do know there's some sentiment in the building for bringing back Justin Fields," Fowler said on SportsCenter. "Both sides, Fields and the Steelers, are certainly open to a potential reunion. Fields wants a realistic shot to start. He wants a clear path to be the guy for a full season, which he was not last year."
The former first-round pick might be asking a lot here.
The Steelers may have ended up believing that he could help in a pinch; do they believe in him more now?
Head coach Mike Tomlin made the impactful decision to change to Wilson, who also had his moments for the playoff qualifier ... before a late-season skid that meant he finished the year 6-5 as the starter.
Wilson has talked of wanting to stay. Pittsburgh has every reason to consider every option, but in an ideal world, the guy who ends up being the No. 1 QB around here in 2025 won't get the job because he's "promised'' it.
He will get the job because he so obviously merits having it.
