Despite yesterday’s stunning trade that sent Justin Fields from the Bears to the Steelers, the recently-signed Russell Wilson will remain in place as Pittsburgh’s starting quarterback. Per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, head coach Mike Tomlin reached out to Wilson before the trade was finalized to let the nine-time Pro Bowler know that his job is safe.
And, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Wilson and the Steelers are interested in a multiyear arrangement. While Pittsburgh is paying Wilson the veteran minimum on his one-year deal for 2024 — the Broncos are picking up the rest of Wilson’s $39MM tab — player and team are already planning to explore a “longer deal” at the the end of the season.
It would seem a bit premature to make those types of plans. After all, while Wilson’s second year in Denver was much better than his first, his brief stint with the Broncos was generally a disappointing one. And even if the Steelers do not exercise Fields’ fifth-year option for 2025, it is certainly possible that he impresses enough over the course of the upcoming year to convince Tomlin — long rumored to be a Fields fan — that his newest acquisition is worthy of a new contract and a starting role. Plus, Wilson will be 36 by the end of the 2024 campaign, while Fields just turned 25.
Nonetheless, the fact that these reports are even circulating is evidence of the Steelers’ faith in Wilson. And considering that the club is committing so little salary to him and was able to acquire Fields for a sixth-round draft choice — which will only become a fourth-rounder if Fields plays 51% of Pittsburgh’s offensive snaps in 2024 — the Fields trade will have been worth it even if he simply plays out the season as a high-end insurance policy for Wilson and heads elsewhere next year.
It was not too long ago that Dulac and other Steelers beats unequivocally wrote that the team would not pursue an external addition (like Wilson and Fields) who was eyeing a QB1 role. Per Pro Football Talk, those reports were correct when they were published, but the club has dramatically changed how its views the quarterback position over the past month. During that time, Pittsburgh saw Mason Rudolph sign with the Titans in free agency and subsequently traded Kenny Pickett to the Eagles. Whether Rudolph’s departure is what triggered the shift in organizational philosophy — Dulac et al. had suggested that Rudolph and Pickett could compete for the starting quarterback job in 2024 — is unclear, but one way or another, the Steelers have overhauled their QB room in a short amount of time, and for minimal cost.
Meanwhile, Chicago fans have Caleb Williams to look forward to in the near future, but the club is doubtlessly disappointed that it was unable to fetch a larger return for Fields, the No. 11 overall pick of the 2021 draft. We heard just last week that the Bears were not panicking even when the market for Fields did not develop as hoped, and as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk opines, the club should have continued exercising patience. If GM Ryan Poles was willing to accept a 2025 draft choice in exchange for Fields, he might have waited until the 2024 draft was over to see which teams were left without a passer. He might even have kept Fields on the roster, at least as a backup, and waited to collect a compensatory draft pick if and when Fields signed with a different club as a free agent next March.
Perhaps, as Florio suggests, Poles felt that he was doing the right thing for Fields by trading him sooner rather than later. Regardless of his rationale, Poles did confirm in a statement after the trade was announced that he had been exploring a deal for weeks.
The statement, issued by the club’s official X feed, reads, “We have engaged in multiple trade conversations in recent weeks and believe trading Justin at this time to Pittsburgh is what is best for both Justin and the Bears. Today we spoke to Justin to inform him of the trade and the rationale behind it for us as a Club. We want to thank him for his tireless dedication, leadership and all he poured into our franchise and community the last three years and wish him the best towards a long and successful NFL career.”
Per ESPN’s Courtney Cronin, five teams contacted the Bears to dicuss a Fields trade, though all of those clubs viewed Fields as a backup. Poles had hoped that the 2021 trade that sent Sam Darnold from the Jets to the Panthers in exchange for a 2021 sixth-rounder, a 2022 second-rounder, and a 2022 fourth-rounder would provide a framework for a Fields deal, but at the time, Carolina clearly viewed Darnold as a starter. Since rival teams did not feel the same way about Fields, Poles elected to resolve the matter quickly and to start the Williams era with a clean slate.
Here’s how the negotiation will go:
Steelers: “Same league minimum with Denver paying the lion’s share?”
Wilson: “Yep. When is the press conference?”
9-8 here they come!
Oh Baby!!!
Likely Bears select Williams.
But might they like Daniels or Maye better?
I’ve been saying for months, but no none is buying it, Williams will not be the Bears pick. I expect a trade down, though only slightly, and Mayes will be the pick.
Oh my god dude, you are wrong, all the fans who are like “schefter and rapaport know less about the inner workings of the nfl than me” are so crazy, they are taking Williams, he’s gonna be great or terrible but that’s the pick, only every insider in the league have concretely said it 1500 times
So Washington or the Pats are trading up just for Williams? I honestly don’t see it! Kaye and Daniel’s are most likely a better fit for those teams. Da bears are stuck with Williams at one
I’m not a true man of genius like you, but I’m pretty sure 1 is a lower number than 2 or 3.
If the Bears liked Maye or Daniels better, they could take either at 1.
It’s very simple Vegas has Williams as -2000 to be the No 1 pick. It’s very obvious what is going to happen. Also I’m just so baffled by the Bears fans and others trying to talk themselves out of clearly the best QB prospect in the Draft. It just makes me question if people even watch the games or they just selectively watch the highlights. Williams is far and away the best and it’s not close.
And it’s quite possible that none of them are worthy of the #1 pick. That 2021 QB draft turned out to be a train wreck. Lawrence is far and away the best QB of the bunch, but that’s not saying much. I’m guessing bears fans are hoping for better.
Hoping for better than what? Next years class is considered to be much much worse then this year. The Bears are the only NFL franchise to never have a 4000 yard passer. If Williams is a carbon copy of Lawerence then he would quite literally be the best QB in bears franchise history.
Poles main issue is that there were at least two decent options for starting QBs in FA, 3 tms at the top of the draft likely to take a QB (including the bears themselves) and another 2-3 tms who could use a QB but see the draft as a way to potentially address that without having to worry about a new contract next year.
as is apparent, the market just wasn’t there, especially after it was clear the falcons were not interested and the broncos were never going to bring him in as he doesn’t fit the Payton mold.
I’m glad he made the trade now, I think he did his best to do right by Fields. Wishing him the best of luck!
I’ll just say it this way…
I really hope the Bears get the Steelers 4th round pick next year.
The only way this happens is if Wilson gets hurt. The Steelers don’t make flip between QBs that quickly. They aren’t the Browns. And I am a Browns fan.
That is the concern, yes.
No upside in Wilson, none.
Even if it’s dubious as to whether it ever gets realized, the upside in Fields is there.
Assume Wilson pans out, what does it get them? At best, at best, one playoff win? One year?
Assume Fields pans out, they have their QB for the next decade.
Make them compete for it. Make them compete for it. Make them compete for it. It’s the best path to the best outcome.
Name a failed 1st round quarterback that went to another team and “panned out” Trubisky, Darnold, Rosen, Lance, Lock, Haskins, and probably a few others. All 1st round picks that flamed out at their original team and went somewhere else and produced. Pittsburgh doesn’t exactly have a track record of developing quarterbacks
All fair.
I just think it’s unlikely that all of those scouts were so wrong so often when there is so much bad coaching out there. Maybe they are ruined at that point, but…
Unless you have a certain caliber of QB, you will not win in today’s league, so I regard wasting time with anyone who doesn’t have that level of upside as pointless.
Keep chasing it until you find it, you can’t win with Brad Johnsons or Trent Dilfers anymore or likely ever again.
And sadly, that’s exactly who Wilson is now and Fields will likely always be who he is. Dennis Green said it best
Absolute baloney. I was with your assessment of Pickett but this continued rant almost sounds like something you wish for
It’s almost hilarious
What the Steelers have done is a thousand percent upgrade of where they were a month ago
Sounds like you fellas just enjoy trolling
1000% upgrade? I didn’t know lateral moves were considered 1000% upgrades. Dumb take. Calling someone out for ranting and then using this kind of phrasing in the same post. Brilliant.
Lateral moves?
Over Pickett? Over Trubisky?
Do you watch Steelers games or is trolling your “thing?”
tiredolddude_ • 19 hours ago
Lateral moves?
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I’d love to see one of the Wilson haters compare the stats of the two to explain why this is a lateral move. Wilson was much, much better last year. By most measures, O’Connell was better than Pickett last year, and if I were the Raiders, I’d have Wilson starting over O’Connell.
And yet Denver is paying 39 million dollars for him to go away. If Wilson was still good, don’t you think that someone would have offered Denver a late round pick and they split the salary? I mean the Browns did that with Mayfield and got a 5th and help relieve some guaranteed money. Mayfield didn’t have much value then. As for Fields, the Steelers tried a reclamation project from Chicago before in Trubisky and that didn’t go over well. Trubisky actually had more success in Chicago than Fields. Failed 1st round picks at quarterback rarely ever go somewhere else and turn their careers around
Nope, sounds like homerism, Deerhunter. You’re ably describing the hodgepodge of talents that your Browns have assembled
Let’s be truthful about why the Broncos jettisoned Wilson. By all accounts, his style of play didn’t fit in with the genius of Sean Payton. Despite leading the team to a mid season 5 game win streak that included the Bills and Chiefs, Payton wanted something else
And when he refused to restructure his contract, Payton benched him
Bending the facts of the situation to fit the Wilson hater mantra is a bit sophomoric, no?
Trent Dilfer just sayin he won a SuperBowl
A quarter of a century ago.
Not going to win with a game manager in today’s league.
You have to chase high ceiling talent.
Foles won in 2017
By all means, keep chasing the next Nick Foles if that makes you happy.
I assure you chasing the next Patrick Mahomes is wiser.
Stafford
Drew Brees, Geno Smith… there have been several and likely several more would have had they been given a chance. I mean look at Tommy Maddox and Kurt Warrener as examples of QB’s that all 32 teams originally gave up on. LA gave up on Jared Goff and he looked legit last season.
Both Brees and Smith were second round picks. Brees didn’t fail, they happened to have the top pick in the draft and traded for Rivers, making Brees available.
Goff had success. He went to the Super Bowl. Brees wasn’t a failure with the Chargers. He was better with the Saints but I’m talking about a failed quarterback like Fields, Darnold and the others I mentioned. There have been some quarterbacks but my point is that there’s been way more failures than successes. Fields most likely won’t be any better than he was in Chicago
Since 1969…45 years….for over half of those years they DEVELOPED 2 first round hall of fame qbs. So that bows yiur post out if the water, about the PITTSBURGH NOT EXACTLY HAVING A TRACK RECORD ON DEVELPPING QUARTERBACKS. Research before you post your ignorance….hmm sounds like maga
2 quarterbacks in 45 years? Not exactly something to brag about
Baker Mayfield.
Mayfield set rookie records and he did it in 13 games. He was rated 10th in 2020. Was he great? No, but he was better than Fields, Darnold, Rosen, Lance and Haskins.
What I’ve learned the most this off-season is that Pittsburgh sports media are not insiders and don’t have any information ahead of time.
They do know their team better than the national people but the national people get all the inside information because they are former players or coaches.
In their defense, you have to admit that Khan has an incredible poker face. His comments were completely opposite of what he pulled off
I do agree with you. They’ve been consistently wrong
Yes the locals are always wrong. Especially the nutcases at the FAN 93.7. How any of these morons keep their job amazes me
Read Madden’s comments in the Trib. The guy is almost always on point. I ignore the radio show because he plays a character more than anything else. It’s a shock jock kind of approach. And his callers often sound like they’re calling from the bar, so who can blame him?
I can’t explain how awful Pittsburgh sports media has become.
98% of them are either utter dunces or ham fisted click bait artists.
Yea just like the obnoxious Andrew filapinata two years ago pushed kenny Pickett to be drafted by the steelers. You would of thought he was Picketts agent. Now he bashes him. He should go back to Syracuse and take his sidekick Mooler with him.
This just seems like it could get ugly..if Russell doesn’t get a new deal or stumbles and the fan base starts chanting for Fields who all the NFL just told him he’s a backup. Maybe Fields just wants to be a backup making $6M annually to hold a clip board.
Having two “starting caliber” QBs on essentially one-year contracts should make things interesting (if not drag down the entire team).
Nah, it’s just yet another year of “non-starting caliber” QB’s battling it out. Same place, just different faces.
Cannot wait to see the Bears struggle mightily with Williams as their QB. Most overrated draft pick ever! Dude has weapons all around him at USC and struggled to get to .500 and people think he’s going to flourish in the NFL? I just don’t get it
They will lose as many games with Caleb as they would’ve with Fields. Plus Caleb is cost controlled for years while Fields has a $25M option for 2025.
Overrated?? How many of those USC recievers or lineman going in the top 3 rounds? Daniels and LSU have 2 recievers going in the first round, that QB may be overrated.
Tomlin is cooking something in the lab. I can see Steelers moving up to get a big name WR now. Maybe Odunze or Nabers
Problem is, they need a center badly. And another lineman on both sides of the ball. It would be nice to trade for a stud receiver, because even though this draft is deep in that area it’s hard to believe they’ll have a rookie starting in this new “win now” approach
Who knows?
Centers are everywhere though. Tomlin is making huge moves with Khan it seems. Getting Queen Wilson and Fields.
Agree. Have to admire this new sea change in the way the Steelers are conducting business but will stop a bit short where the Kelce brothers’ proclamation that “this is a very dangerous team” with the signings
Still need some studs on both lines. Still need a splash receiver
Will be interesting to see if they’re done until draft time. Somehow, I don’t think so
Yeah free agency for wideouts is dwindling. They could make a move for Mike W or Gallup. Even Odell. Or draft two strong prospects in upcoming draft and start building a D Line again
I think they are starting Frazier in the draft in round 2…. worst case scenario is they could resign Mason Cole to a league minimum deal or move James Daniels to Center for the year
But I could see picking a high upside WR in 1 and A center in 2, then next year flipping Licken for a big haul of draft picks (a 1st and a 3rd)
I actually think that even if they don’t sign Williams or Boyd, or make a splash trade, they’re still going to go with a center in round 1. I think they’ve learned the value of the position in this town and that Cole presented negative up front
If they trade up I’m hoping for Byron Murphy to add more youth and athleticism on the D-line with Benton.
cubfanforever • 3 hours ago
Likely Bears select Williams.
But might they like Daniels or Maye better?
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I wouldn’t be surprised, but they’d need a pretty good package. IF someone wanted to overpay, I don’t see a world of difference between the top three guys. Though I’d have like to have seen Daniels show up at the combine.
I really hate this team sometimes.
Did you ever stop to think that maybe, just maybe, this team sometimes hates you, too?
I think it’s Williams unless Washington or New England not their socks off, but I don’t see them trading down beyond #3.
The Steelers needed a “game manager” QB and that got that in Wilson (at this point of his career). I expect a return to old school Steelers football. Run the ball to open up the passing game and a top defense.
Will only work If denver experience lessen wilson overinflated Ego. If you had wilson/rodgers in same room. No room for anyone else.
The era of dink and dunk football has arrived in Pittsburgh.
Old Ben, Mitch, Mason, Kenny and Duck say hi.
Yeah, if there’s anything Steelers fans are plenty used to, it’s dink and dunk. Heavy on the dink, not so much dunk.
We also ignored the MOF before DEN & Russ made it trendy, so don’t try to peddle those wares here either!
Other than assuaging Russell Wilson’s ego, what is achieved by handing him the starting job vs. what is achieved by having a TRUE competition and letting the best QB win?
Nothing.
I totally understand if you don’t believe in Pickett moving off of him. However I in no way understand handing the starting Job to Wilson and now already saying your going to talk about a new contract. Wilson is not aging well at the QB position because his success was based on his athleticism which is greatly diminished. At his best he is a bottom 3rd QB.
However ….I can almost understand starting him if you just don’t want drama and working with Fields …. If I’m just Fields I’m going to find Jesse Palmer (who completely reworked Josh Allen’s mechanics right before he took off to superstardom) and by mid season be the starting QB
Does it really matter what they say publicly? That is, do their comments for the media mean much when the team begins practice? Wilson knows he has a talented young guy behind him who was brought in as QB of the future and as such, isn’t it incumbent upon him to continually prove it?
I dunno. I just thinks this applies to any starter in any sport and at any level. Coaches and teammates have short memories when there is somebody pushing for your job and you’re not getting it done
Talent wise the Steelers are way better off then they were a week ago. The concern is if the Steelers stall on given Wilson a deal does he get moody or become a media whiner? Also, why would Fields just lay down and accept being a backup and make Wilson beat him out in camp. I have watched Fields for the last three years and have always said, he just doesn’t seem to enjoy the game.
Just leaks from the Wilson camp. You’ll notice the “news” didn’t come from the Steelers. His camp is notorious for this – when you see Tomlin say something, then take it seriously.
You mean like how he still has faith in Pickett and that he’s number 1 going into next year. Ok
This is a head scratcher…you aren’t and can’t pick up Fields 5th year option. You’re going to have Wilson start and if he is mediocre start Fields then get to the end of the season and have 2 free agents, possibly looking to move on from both?