Upon trading for Sam Darnold in 2021, the Panthers quickly picked up their soon-to-be starter’s fifth-year option. With the Steelers taking the interesting step of making it clear recent trade acquisition Justin Fields will not have a chance to begin the season as their starter, they are expected to take a different route regarding his fifth-year option.
The team is “highly unlikely” to exercise Fields’ fifth-year option, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac. Seeing as it would cost Pittsburgh $25.7MM fully guaranteed to pick up Fields’ 2025 option, the team’s plan would effectively make doing so a non-starter. Despite a rocky Denver stint, Russell Wilson has already been assured he will be Pittsburgh’s Week 1 starter.
[RELATED: Steelers Trade QB Kenny Pickett To Eagles]
Although the Steelers are not planning to pick up Fields’ option, Dulac adds they are not viewing Fields as a one-and-done player. The organization has moved into uncertain territory at quarterback, having already expressed interest in pushing Wilson’s contract beyond this year. That will make a post-2024 Fields commitment tricky, but Dulac indicates the 2021 Bears first-rounder is being viewed by the Steelers as the potential quarterback of the future.
Since the 2014 offseason brought the first set of fifth-year option decisions, only one team — the Giants — has circled back to re-signing a QB after passing on his fifth-year option. And the Daniel Jones deal has not started well. Fields also would seemingly be interested in seeing what his 2025 market would look like — perhaps after making starts this season, given Wilson’s up-and-down (mostly down) Broncos tenure — before committing to a team that has already indicated he will not compete for the starting job this offseason.
The Bears wanted a Day 2 pick in a Fields swap, per ESPN’s Courtney Cronin and Brooke Pryor, but most of the teams eyeing Fields did so with an eye on making him a backup. This limited Fields’ market. Fits certainly played a role here, with the Ohio State alum certainly being better than a few teams’ starters at present. But a few QB-needy teams are readying to address those issues in the draft. The Broncos would not have seemed a Fields fit, and they will be linked to a draft addition to pair with Jarrett Stidham. Bears GM Ryan Poles reportedly turned down a better offer to send Fields to a more favorable situation in Pittsburgh, Cronin and Pryor add. Fields indeed wanted to be dealt to the Steelers, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. Though, it would be shocking if the offer Poles rejected was significantly better than the Steelers’ proposal.
Wilson, 35, carried a slightly better QBR mark than Fields in 2023 — when the then-Broncos QB bounced back, to a degree, under Sean Payton — but the Steelers going from putting Kenny Pickett in a competition for the starting job to handing Wilson the keys without Fields factoring in represents a somewhat surprising development.
Fields, 25, has certainly shown warts as a passer. But Wilson’s shakier status would make this situation differ from when ex-starters Teddy Bridgewater and Jameis Winston trekked elsewhere to reset behind established starters. Drew Brees held a firm grip on the Saints’ job when they signed Bridgewater and then Winston, while it would certainly not surprise to see Wilson benching rumors emerge — now that the Steelers have acquired a starter-caliber backup — this year.
While the Steelers have significant questions at quarterback beyond 2024, their situation is undoubtedly better than it stood exiting the 2023 season. For now, however, they will walk a tightrope with Wilson and Fields both tentatively in their post-2024 plans. After an uneven three years in Chicago, Fields will begin his contract year in a wildly different situation.
Tomlin loves fields and everyone loves Tomlin. I think he’ll be in Pittsburgh for a while just need to figure out if Wilson is here for 1 or 2 years.
Tomlin loves Tomlin, but not all the players do.
Name one.
I’m waiting for the answer right with you. A large part of Tomlins appeal is that he’s a players coach.
Melvin Ingram
The Steelers have no idea wtf they’re doing
So what exactly would your solution for them be?
The best solution is to ask the Pirates what they would do…then do the exact opposite.
I’m all seriousness though what are they actually supposed to do. They drafted a QB in the first round 2 years ago. Obviously Pickett didn’t work out neither do 75% of QBs drafted. They moved off him quickly. Unfortunately for the Steelers are well run franchise with a good head coach so they still won 10 games without good QB play. So they aren’t draft high enough to get another good QB prospect. They don’t have more capital that other teams like the Vikings to trade up and get me. So they go to the FA market which outside of Peyton Manning one time no top 10-12 QB has been on the market for 20 years. So they sign a vet on the down slide and young guy that’s a project but has talent. I don’t understand what exactly the people insulting them would do different
I’m not a GM but if the QB position is unsettled I would want to have a strong run game to lean on until things improve. The Steelers are relying on Najee but he seemed on vacation for the first half of last season. I don’t know if he can really be the guy.
That’s makes sense but what does that have to do with their QB moves in the offseason?
The post is about their QB and the comment I’m responding to is related to them having “no idea what they are doing” about their QB situation.
So I ask again what exactly give the circumstances I stated above what should they have done about their QB situation that would be any better than what they did?
Apologies for the late reply. Let me clarify my previous post: I didn’t mean that they were making poor moves, I meant they have no idea what they’re doing in that they seem to have no concrete plan. They seem to just be signing this guy, and oh, maybe that guy too, and should we add this other guy? etc.
That’s just my observation as an outsider though who admittedly doesn’t follow them too closely
Some magical thinking of tanking for a QB, which no self-respecting organization would do. Even the high profile franchises that have done that, namely Indianapolis, got bitten in the butt with how Luck’s career played out.
Steelers have set themselves up nicely under the circumstances.
Nothing they’ve done prevents them from drafting a QB of the future, and they have a Plan A in Wilson and a Plan B in Fields. For a 6th Rd pick, they can evaluate Fields and either roll with him down the line or cut bait with little consequence.
If the Steelers had 3 QBs they’d have a Plan C too. It’s rather obvious they are unsettled at the QB position just bidding time to see how things play out. Of course they aren’t the only team in the league in that predicament.
Tomlin is the most overrated coach in the NFL
Talk about getting the right ingredients and mixing them all wrong.
Full, real, open competition for the starting job.
Wilson winning the job gets you almost nothing but treading water.
Let Fields sink or swim and maybe you have your QB for a decade.
Inside sources say there is a competition. Shout out Jeff Hartman from SCN. Idk who his source is, but he was right about Steelers’ interest in Wilson before anyone, and that the Steelers were entertaining diontae trades before there was any buzz. Be on the lookout for a cam heyward extension for the record. But I do not believe there is no competition
I don’t have any doubt they want both guys for the immediate future and that Fields is their idea a couple years down the road. You’re right, of course, it really doesn’t matter what pronouncements are made, as any starter from Pop Warner knows he has to perform, right?
Really, this is an article that says nothing. Fields himself likely knows that the 5th year option is untenable.
Meanwhile, Dulac is saying he expects the Steelers aren’t done with the splash moves, especially at receiver.
Pardon my senior moment…
Any starter from Pop Warner to the pros….
This is the one hope.
That Russell Wilson is the starter the way Kenny Pickett was the starter.
FTR, I’m not saying hand the job to Fields, either.
Let them fight for it, may the best man win…it would just be better for them if that man were Fields and not Wilson.
Disagree. The best scenario is that Wilson plays well for a couple years as Fields learns ala Jordan Love. At that point, Wilson is 38, Fields’s talent is unmistakeable and there’s a changing of the guard.
I don’t know how much football you watch besides the Steelers, 66, but here’s my prediction that you can scoff at: QB is going to be the least of their worries this coming season, and that’s a nice change
I’m guessing they’re going to address o-line and get a receiver so I am going to predict the d-line giving up ground game yardage is going to again be a big concern as well as the secondary.
Have you read anything from Broncos fans about Wilson?
That many fans THAT vehement is rarely (never) wrong.
And rather than set Fields up for a CHANCE at success, they are prioritizing a toasted diva’s ego.
Also, Jordan Love learned at the beginning of his career, not the middle. Fields can’t sit for his twenties and then emerge as a franchise QB.
So you want me to put credence in what fans say?
The Broncos had a head coach in Wilson’s first year who by all accounts was in over his head and a bloated, overhyped coach in his second who simply put, wanted Wilson out
And now your solution, after a couple years of having the worst quarterbacking in the league, is to not give a 9 time pro bowler and guy who won a Super Bowl a chance
Yeah. Sound reasoning.
Others have stated the obvious. You allow Wilson to prove it. Thankfully, that looks to be the method ahead
As for Fields, I’m merely noting the blueprint that they appear to be using.
Before Love, I’m not sure how many 1st round picks ever sat behind a future HofF’er for a couple of years and then succeeded. It was unique. As this will be
Right.
Now do Dan Marino.
What Wilson did in Seattle is so not relevant at this point.
And I’ve said, give him a chance, just not the job.
I’m saying give the young guy who played well enough in the second half of last season that people had serious doubts as to whether a team would pass on a #1 overall pick AGAIN for him a chance, TOO.
Does it really matter what is put out for media consumption? At any level, from Pop Warner to the pros, being called “starter” doesn’t mean you’re the grand poobah down at the lodge, where you call all the shots
Whether OTA’s, camp, exhibition games or general practices, the young man is going to have chances
The question is—as we learned during Mason’s time here—does it matter? I’ll grant you that much.
And Marino? I still can’t believe the Steelers passed on him
Did they steal this plan from the Jets? Two QBs vying to redeem their careers, with both on (essentially) one-year contracts. What could go wrong? LOL
They got both guys at fantastic value, but a cost-effective quarterback situation isn’t the same as a good quarterback situation. Each individual decision makes sense, but it’s a weird path to finding a viable quarterback.
Who was it that said, “when you have two starters in the same position, you have none?”
Obviously, someone who wasn’t around for Montana and Young on the same team
I think there is also a reasonably good chance that the Steelers trade up and draft maybe Nix.
I had the impression Nix was a Roethlisberger-type in terms of size and style but I was only half right. Nix is a smaller version at 6’2
That said, he came a long way from his days at Auburn, but unless the Steelers have some moves up their sleeve before the draft, it’s hard to believe they’d trade up for a number 3
I mean, they need a center, another o-lineman, d-lineman and receivers. I think they’ll eventually take a QB, but on day 3
Talks going around town that the steelers are going to make a big splash and trade for a wide receiver. Talk is either San Fran or Minnesota. Might cost them a number 1 pick. Minnesota is talking Jefferson.
Frisco is talking Ayakiu
Yeah, I’ve read this. Don’t know about you but to me either is a no-brainer
I agree with you. This way they can get their center,offensive lineman and defensive lineman in the draft.
I see that Dulac was throwing cold water on the idea in his chat yesterday, saying price is too high. I would disagree
Mike Tomlin kept the crazy under wraps from the national media with Brown and Bell. I think he can handle these two quarterbacks.
Depends on what you mean by “handle”? Tomlin is pretty hands off and letting the crazies run the asylum. The best part of all this is probably Tomlin staying Tomlin: let his coaches do all the work (good or bad) while he reaps the credit and they take the blame. At least that means Wilson and Fields will be coached day to day by coaches (Smith and Arth) who understand offense and quarterbacks and not by Tomlin himself.
According to who? He’s basically the model for the modern NFL coach on how to handle tough personalities. No one had a clue how crazy Antonio Brown was until his last year there. Roethlisberger and all of his off-field mess, Brown, Bell, James Harrison, Santonio Holmes, etc. They’ve had some characters with that franchise that rarely become the story. Brown left there and got cut by two teams and quit mid-game on the defending Super Bowl champion when again, most people didn’t even know he was a problem, let alone crazy until his last five minutes in Pittsburgh.
If he’s the model, why does Pittsburgh get all the crazy WRs? Do they draft them specifically or create them during their stay? You have to admit, their WR room is never settled and their tenure has to be the shortest per player in the league.
Surely you’re kidding. Have you taken a look at the position around the league? The diva receiver wasn’t coined because of Pittsburgh receivers.
Btw, what NFL head coach is hands on coaching their quarterbacks? Even the so called offensive gurus don’t do that. Show me a guy micromanaging players, and I’ll show you a failed head coach.
Simple solution..see how Wilson pans out. If he starts showing his age, gets hurt or the steelers are 4-4 or worse after 8 games. Then it’s obvious they go to fields. The qb that want as the future. They will not pick up his option, but they will sign him to a multi year deal. Besides Tomlin likes veteran qbs. That why he benched Rudolph and didn’t really back up his talk on Pickett.
Tomlin swings too much power.
Agree with your solution and really, it seems like that’s how they’ll proceed and it makes complete sense
Again I agree with you. I’m a tired old dude myself lol
Amazing how older minds speak more sense than some younger minds.
Well I’ll make the exception about older minds making sense. This excludes the orange man
Agree with you again, wholeheartedly. LOL
Yeah, I’m not sure why some are making this a big deal and taking these quotes and subsequent articles as being indicative of some problem that’s bound to happen
I guess it’s because some people love drama,are bored,are lonely, or just plain nuts.
It’s like the nutjob so called sports talk show hosts in pittsburgh, especially the nutjobs on 93.7. Talk radio, what a joke. They hardly take calls. And when they do,if they don’t agree with the caller, they ridicule the caller and hang up.
People need to relax,and enjoy life. They need fresh air and sun.
Under that scenario, Fields could choose to go elsewhere if he proves himself. Sure they could tag him, but we know how that can play out.
No, he benched him because he can’t play. When your TD percentage is less than Jamarcus Russell at the same point of your career, it’s safe to say you kind of stink. Even with that said, he kept him in there even when everyone could see this until he got hurt and then just didn’t go back to him like most sane coaches would do with a young guy. He was the one who poouted about it and brought attention to it.
It appears that the Steelers will develop Fields in the manner that the Cowboys are doing with Lance. Making sure they develop to the point of earning QB1 position instead of being handed the position an hoping their potential comes to reality. IMHO I think that both will be bridges to an upgrade being drafted down the road.
People shouldn’t get too caught up in who has been named the #1 QB. Russell Wilson will be the starter until he proves he sucks or gets injured and then Fields is coming in. Last year Mason Rudolph was taking snaps with the 3’s in training camp and was the starter by the end of the year.
Neither of these two players are part of Pittsburgh’s future – but they are an improvement over the Steelers’ QB room from the last couple years.
Why not do what Green Bay did with Jordan Love? Renegotiate a 2 year deal with Fields. Since they are only paying him around $3.23 million and Wilson $1.20 million. Thats only $4.43 allocated to the QB position. Thats second only to SF. This would pay Fields more money this year, but have incentives to reach the full value in 2025. Make sense for both sides.
They would be smart to take that approach, but Fields may prefer to gamble this year. If Wilson doesn’t come through and he steps up, the expected contract would be much bigger.
The perfect scenario would be that Field’s helps motivate Russell to play well and Field’s develops to a point that Tomlin is comfortable moving on from Russell in 2025. I think Field’s would take below market contract for a starter in Pittsburgh in 2025 that had incentives tied to it for 2 years. Maybe 2 year $30M with $15M guaranteed with incentives that could reach 2 year $40M..
Yes, there’s a good chance that with some starting experience, Justin Fields will now have the eyes to see what Russell Wilson does out there. In a year or two, he’ll be ready to start and perform well.
Fields will never be Patrick Mahomes or even Lamar Jackson but he could get into Donovan McNabb territory and that’s enough.