According to reports, the Pittsburgh Steelers may have already made a significant decision on quarterback Justin Fields’ future.
The Chicago Bears declined superior trade offers for quarterback Justin Fields in order to enable his desire to be sent to the Pittsburgh Steelers. While he will get the opportunity to compete with Russell Wilson for the starting spot, his future with the team is uncertain.
This offseason, Pittsburgh completely rebuilt its quarterback room, capitalizing on teams looking to replace their signal-callers. After moving on from Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph, the Steelers signed Wilson for the veteran minimum after he was released by the Denver Broncos.
Justin Fields stats 2023: 86.3 QB rating, 61.4 percent completion rate, 16-9 TD-INT, 2,562 passing yards, 657 rushing yards, 5.3 yards per carry, 4 rushing touchdowns in 13 games
After Wilson signed, the Steelers traded former first-round pick Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles. Shortly after, the organization took advantage of the Chicago Bears’ decision to move on from Fields, acquiring him for a conditional sixth-round pick in 2025.
Not only did the Steelers improve their quarterback situation for the 2024 season, but Wilson and Fields will earn less than $5 million this year. However, it looks that the team is only considering making a long-term commitment to one of them at this time.
During an appearance on SportsCenter, ESPN NFL reporter Adam Schefter said that while the Steelers haven’t even gotten to see Fields start operating in their offense yet, the belief is that it would be an “upset” if the team exercised his fifth-year option.
“They just traded for Justin Fields, they haven’t even gotten him in and had him work in their offense yet and he is slated right now to be their No. 2 quarterback. Most people around the league believe that it would be an upset right now if the Steelers were to pick up that fifth-year option in advance.”
The fifth-year option for next season would fully guarantee a $25.664 million salary for Fields. While the Steelers coaching staff likes his talent, there isn’t enough confidence in him long-term to warrant picking up that team option.
As Schefter emphasized, this choice does not guarantee Fields will not return to Pittsburgh in 2025. The club would still have the franchise tag at its disposal, or it could negotiate a new contract with him before he becomes an NFL free agent.
However, the Steelers have previously stated that they are open to signing Wilson to a new contract following the season. Based on the differences in their approaches to the two quarterbacks, Wilson appears to be the clear favorite to be the Steelers’ starting quarterback next season.
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