The Steelers have been talking to both Justin Fields and Russell Wilson for weeks, but no signing has taken place. It can naturally be assumed complications have interfered with the team’s rumored plan to retain Fields. Recent reports seem to indicate that is the case.
We heard Friday that Fields has a burgeoning market, and The Athletic’s Dianna Russini points to the young QB reaching free agency to hear offers from other clubs. The Jets will be one of the teams in pursuit, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport adds. A Jets-Fields connection emerged recently, and with two options on this market not in play for Gang Green (Sam Darnold and Aaron Rodgers, the latter of whom about to be a Jets release), Fields would make sense — as a bridge if nothing else.
Other teams have interest in Fields, too, Rapoport adds. This will drive up the Steeler backup’s price and test the AFC North team’s resolve. As the Steelers have been primarily connected to only Fields and Wilson, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac reports the team has not dismissed pursuing an outside free agent to solve its QB issue.
The team has enjoyed plenty of time to both evaluate their in-house options and conduct negotiations, even though it does not talk extensions in-season. Both passers have clashed with the coaching staff, though. Fields was understandably upset when Mike Tomlin overruled player and staffer support to keep him as a starter, but the veteran HC did not turn back to Fields after making the call to bench him for Wilson once the latter recovered from his calf injury. The Steelers’ Wilson path started well but ended badly, with the team losing its final five games.
Wilson also clashed with OC Arthur Smith, with Dulac adding the two disagreed about the state of the offense. Wilson being upset about an offense’s direction would continue a refrain. He had disagreed with Pete Carroll‘s plan in Seattle, at the height of the “Let Russ cook” movement, and received tremendous input into the direction of the Denver offense during Nathaniel Hackett‘s doomed HC stay. Sean Payton and Wilson did not prove a fit, as a messy divorce commenced. Wilson has been expected to leave Pittsburgh, but if Fields is lured away by a strong offer elsewhere, the 36-year-old may need to be a fallback option.
If the Steelers are to look outside for a new QB, they would have options in Darnold, Rodgers, Daniel Jones and perhaps Kirk Cousins. Beyond Darnold, these options would serve as temporary fixes. Rodgers and Cousins, though, would remind of Wilson’s situations, as other teams would be on the hook for the veterans’ salaries. As of now, however, the Falcons are holding firm on Cousins. A release remains a possibility, however.
The Jets not having Rodgers or Darnold as options and sitting behind the Titans, Browns and Giants in the draft would stand to ramp up a Fields push. The former three-year Bears starter could serve as a multiyear option in New York, which as an OC (Tanner Engstrand) who observed Fields closely while on an NFC North staff. Fields going into his age-26 season would appeal to suitors as well. If Darnold is now most likely to be a Seahawk, the Fields domino would be next to fall.
The Steelers have until 11am CT Monday to keep him off the market. As of now, that appears unlikely to happen. Were Fields to remain unsigned by that point, the Steelers could still bring him back. They would just have to bid against other teams to do so.
If I was Justin Fields I’d give Tomlin and the Rooney’s the finger and run, Not walk away as fast as I could.
Fields should bend the knee and kiss Tomlin’s ring. If it wasn’t for Tomlin he would’t have a job. No other teams wanted him.
That’s a load: the Steelers TRADED for Fields. Lots of other teams would have taken him if they could.
they traded a 6th round pick, dude was essentially free lmao
They traded him for a 6th round Conditional pick that would have turned into a 4th depending of half of the snaps taken. Funny but after 6 games and a 4-2 record the POS Steelers benched him when he was well on his way to passing that condition. So spare me Benny.
Yeah they benched him and their PPG went up, what POS. Spare me, boomer
Well, since there are apparently several teams interested in Fields, he must have a bit more value than a “POS”, sport.
I was sarcastically calling the Steelers a POS bud. And yeah teams are interested in Tim Boyle enough to keep giving him jobs… does that make him super duper?
Pretty much everything you write is sarcastic, sport.
Nice quippy comment, still didnt correctly address what i said in either reply.
Funny even after it would be evident Fields would not meet that condition during the 5 game losing streak they did not turn back to Fields.
And by the way even if you (wrongly) think Fields was benched to not have the conditionsl pick upgraded to 4th round that would only mean the Steelers did not believe he was even worth that!
That had a lot more to do with Tomlin refusing to admit that he was wrong and probably not football related. The man has an ego the size of the goodyear blimp. He has never been wrong!
That’s a complete load of dung. Fields asked Poles to send him there( Why is anyone’s guess) So Poles did because he had other offers from other teams. Then Tomlin stabbed him in the back when Fields was winning. Kiss his ring? Kick him in the _alls is what he should do.
What other trade offers were there? I’ll wait….MINN took Darnold and ATL signed Cousins. Fields wasn’t winning, the team was. He could barely throw for 200 yards a game. Took too many sacks too. Tomlin switched the better passing QB. It isn’t rocket science here.
Uncle Mike is right: both Fields and Poles said there were better offers, but they’d agreed Fields could pick his destination. Russ earned the right to start when healthy, but all of Pittsburgh was clamoring for Fields to get back in when Russ struggled. Not sure why Fields would think Tomlin will believe in him going forward when he clearly did not believe in Fields in 2024.
Very good Uncle! Go get em!
You got to be from the Southside of Chicago.
Clearly, you are not a serious football fan Plus3. For if you were you would not express such a classically uninformed opinion of the situation. Please contact the office of Bill Engvall so they can send you out your sign.
Lets hear your classically informed opinion. Do you even have one?
You’ve already been corrected multiple times on your claim that nobody wanted Fields.
The dude ran for A THOUSAND YARDS as a QB and has multiple seasons with around 20 touchdowns and not many picks. He’s also still really young for a QB.
Lol no one has corrected anything. There was no market for Fields. Remember when CHI wanted a first or second round pick for him and no one called? They settled for a 6th. PITS was the only team out there that needed a QB. ATL took Cousins and MIN took Darnold. He can run for 10,000 yards but he still can’t throw consistantly. QBs are expected to throw the ball too. That’s why Tomlin benched him. Nevermind if Fields was that good, PITS would keep him, not let him test the market
Keep embarrassing yourself by making claims you can’t back up just because you don’t like a player.
Keep not saying anything to refute what I said. Add something halfway intelligent at least.
Youre not allowed to criticize his pookie Justin Fields despite him being a QB who cant read a defense and that teams considering him as plan Z
I’m at a loss as to how anyone is debating this. It was all over national media and showed up in local Pittsburgh papers that no, there was no market for Fields—-perhaps at least in terms of what Poles initially wanted in return
As for the QB situation here, the Raiders surprised me in opting for Geno and it looks like the Seahawks will grab Darnold. To me, that makes Wilson or Fields returning a better possibility as doors close
Me? I say give Fields the job
Anybody but Rodgers
Fields was not ‘sought after’ because of his contract status more than anything else, but please keep saying that no one wanted him because of lack of performance. Even with his expiring contract, there were other teams that were interested in Fields, but Fields asked to be sent to Pittsburgh.
What other teams were interested? I’ll wait.
I don’t remember saying no one wanted him
But at the point of him coming to Pittsburgh, his market as a potential starting QB had pretty much dried up. I couldn’t care less about the reasoning teams used in staying away from him before that period in time. That seems to be the point of departure a few here have
I don’t know if there were offer for Fields or not. And truthfully, I don’t care
By the time he made it here however, I’m betting there weren’t many offers or tangible opportunities left
I get that this is apparently very important to Bears and Fields fans. That’s great
Given the alternatives, I’d just like to see him re-sign here
The problem is that Tomlin has this tendency to say one thing then do another. Whether it’s free agents like Legarrette Blount or QBs like Rudolph, Trubisky and Pickett—and Fields—-it’s kind of odd that so many want to call him a “players’ coach”. So many have found that you can’t trust his words about starting and playing time
This report is no surprise. It explains why there’s still an opening here. I’m betting Wilson feels the same way after being told to not change plays
What a mess
Plus 3- My Classically informed opinion is your 6 pack has 1 can in it. And it’s leaking.
You have no opinion. Just spouting from your butt. Bears gave away Fields for a 6th because there was no market for him lol. You DO know that a 6th round pick is trash, right? There were no other teams that wanted him, and you can’t name any.
I’ve already stated my opinion more times than I can count. The Steelers tanked their season to save 2 rounds on a draft pick. Kind of makes you wonder about the intelligence of the whole organization. I’m sorry you aren’t intelligent enough to comprehend it. Do you work for the Steelers? Because I could see that.
That’s some serious tin foil hat stuff lol
Benching the starting QB to give up a 6th instead of a 4th! And by a coach who has never had a losing season, all for a tank? And they made the wild card round and still ended up with a low draft pick…terrible tank job!
Sorry, Mike, but the sad part is they didn’t tank. The “Players Coach” had a number of his guys simply waving the white flag. When Aikman and Herbstreit tell you in separate broadcasts that it looks like the team doesn’t want to be there or just lack enthusiasm, well, you may call it tanking but in reality, they got their a$$e$ pounded by the Eagles and Ravens
This was an overrated team when they were 10-2—poor O line, soft defense—and the big boy teams they played down the stretch proved it
Regardless of who comes to play QB here, unless there are amazing upgrades in free agency and the draft, this is a perpetual 9/10 win, middle of the road team
They got pounded 6 games in a row and never went to Fields once who could have at least provided ball control even though it was in the press that the players were asking for it. Sorry but tanking to save a draft pick pretty much sums it up. And Tomlin admitted it was his idea, Even though I have reservations about that. And I laughed my A** off at the time in many posts about the Steelers. It’s all in here.
Agree 100% about Fields. Ridiculous
What’s more ridiculous is putting shackles on Wilson after lighting up the Bengals for 44
I mean, Tomlin and Smith have such egos that allowing their 9x Pro Bowl QB to improvise was an insult?
You say tanking but it was nothing more that comeuppance. Overrated team with holes got taken to the wood shed. What’s funny about your logic is that 9 or 10 wins put them in the mushy middle year after year. Can’t get the franchise QB (Kenny Pickett? What a sick joke) and where the last few drafts are concerned, can’t get much impact help either
Fields wasn’t going to move the needle much. Can’t pass downfield at all.
Russ did better than people think. His fumble against the Browns, and to a lessor extent Najees fumble against the Ravens (week 16?) were why they lost those games
Just saying 6 straight, isn’t the same as knowing why they lost 6 straight. Overall Russ kept them in games, despite having nothing to work with at WR
No, but his legs make another dimension teams have to account for. Also running the ball keeps the other teams offense off the field. Not saying that would have made a difference as we will never know, but its possible.
If Fields has no passing dimension to account for its pretty easy to contain the offense. PPG with Russ was higher than with Fields and its not a mystery as to why
Would you rather have Fields or Geno as your starting QB? It’s a coin toss.
While Geno is not good, im taking Geno. Guy can at least throw the ball
Gino
Geno now. Fields in the future.
Geno easy
Fields is just not a good qb.
Solid, exciting runner.
But very limited QB, and good for a massive blunder or 5
Justin Fields is not a franchise QB and hasn’t improved in 4 seasons.
He’s nothing more than a backup that can run.
Which is what the Bills need. Trubisky doesn’t instill confidence in anyone should he have to step into the Buffalo offense.
He’s nothing more than a punt returner. He’s not an NFL QB
Ridiculous comment.
He’s more gifted than hurts and played behind two brutally awful offensive lines in Chicago and Pittsburgh. Not to mention barely adequate offensive weapons with either. Love his physical gifts,age, experience and toughness.
Agree with you, Johnny, but he’s yet to show he can pass like Hurts. Granted, having some time in the pocket sure would help
I have the suspicion the Steelers are gonna be left holding the bag when the smoke clears. Serves them right. On one hand, you want to rein in a SB winning QB and on the other, you hardly use a kid who looked pretty good over the first six games
Kinda hard to pass like anyone when you are running for your life.
I’m not surprised he’s got a market. Fields is still very young for a QB and an electric runner and playmaker.
With the right QB coach, he could be a true Pro Bowler.
I always felt the Jets should’ve drafted him over Zach Wilson. He’s tailor made for that team.
I would bet everything I own that he will finish his career without ever getting one pro bowl vote
He ran for 1100 yards and threw 17 TDs his second year. Stop talking.
And was also the worst QB in the league statistically in the 4th quarter.
So are plenty who put up stats.
And what did that get him? He’s a lousy QB. The year he threw 17 TD passes? He also had 11 interceptions and was sacked 55 times. Let’s re-evaluate who should stop talking
Yeah, and that was the year Fields was also playing on a rebuilding team where he was the only player they really had (and no Oline, and with a no brain OC) and for a chunk of the year his best receivers where 4th stringers at best. So who needs the re-eval??
Anyone who has ever watched any Bears football games knows JF had a trash OL and the only receiver he had that was worth anything was DJ Moore.
Not to forget we had a dumbass coach and clueless OC.
As for the Steelers.
When your WHOLE team, OC, and staff are fully behind JF except for Tomlin.
That should tell you something.
Last year, Tomlin wouldn’t let JF throw vertically very much.
I know, because I also watched the Steelers.
There were many screen passes and guess who called those plays?? Tomlin.
A Diehard Steelers friend, my ex-uncle-in-law is royally pissed because of the games they are playing with JF.
If they want a future quarterback and want to win games NOW, They need to sign JF or you guys will be F^ed with the likes of Rodgers or Jones.
Well, he allowed him to pass in one game. You remember the snow night game in Cleveland. Fields is on the bench the entire game but they bring him in on the final drive-to run for a 1st down and close out the game. Somehow, Tomlin has him throw downfield for an incompletion. Did I mention that all they needed was a short run for a 1st down? Or that Fields had sat the entire game?
The season went downhill from there thanks to the genius
And you’re right. They alienated Wilson. They showed no confidence in Fields. Maybe by the Raiders and Seahawks shoring up their QB spots early, it’ll mean one of these guys comes back. But I fully expect a train wreck signing
Good thing the Steelers prioritzed the Ghost of Russell Wilson’s frail ego over what was best for the team.
Cost them a year of development time and now millions more in dollars and cap space…and that’s IF they can still sign him.
Having said that, there is no better landing spot for Fields than staying in Pittsburgh.
The Jets are a woodchipper for QB careers and he’d be in either the same or worse situation with any of the other available teams, a seatwarmer.
His longest leash would be in PGH without Wilson behind him.
What is this copium? Fields truthers are so delusional lmao
Love people who are disrespectful towards other fans based on nothing but not liking a player. Totally not clown behavior or anything.
Wompwomp
Anyone who thinks the “Steelers prioritized” Russels “ego” instead of simply starting the better QB bc theyre still deluded enough to think Fields is good deserves to be pointed and laughed at. If this upsets you, oh well.
Based on Fields inability to read his WRs in 2.5 seconds and throw the ball. He can’t do it. No matter how many teams he’s on or how many QB coaches he has, they can’t fix that. The Bears saw it and Tomlin saw it and benched him. QBs in the NFL don’t run the ball unless they have to. And when they do, they run out of bounds or slide. Rushing yards don’t matter. Even Mahommes and Jackson barely took off in the regular season. There’s too much excuse making for Fields for whatever unknown reasons. He didn’t have a market a year ago and won’t have a market now. Because he can’t consistently pass the ball and move an offense down the field.
The Bears saw Caleb Williams at #1 otherwise its far more likely Fields would have still been on the Bears starting for them.
‘Whatever unknown reasons’: LOL.
lets count the ways you are wrong, inept org, inept coaching, inept Oline, inept play calling (all of which were still issues when Williams came in and through his first season and WIDELY known), then inept personnel as, once again for the willfully ignorant, 2022 was literally a tear down year where he was the best player on the roster -aside from maybe Kmet and Mooney who also got hurt that season and was playing like he wanted out), and he was basically a tackling dummy out there, which is not going to make you really confident to just take it easy in a pocket,
THEN you have the slides Fields DID make, and the late and cheap shots taken on him that the refs refused to call. …
but please keep telling yourself it was all on Fields…Whatever helps you sleep at night I guess.
Im not saying Fields is an amazing QB, but Im tired of people acting like its all on him and him alone.
Because after so many seasons in the NFL it IS on him. Bears saw it in practice everyday and so did the Steelers. If he has so much potential, why did the Steelers (who currently have no QBs) bench him and let him go? Fields literally struggles to throw 200 yards in a game.
Inept anything has zero to do with not being able to read your WRs in 2.5 seconds. It’s the coaches! It’s the OL! It’s the refs! It’s the WRs! It’s the organization! Its the weather! It’s the bad turf! It’s the football! Lol what’s next, his shoes didn’t fit right?
So, by your argument it was ALL on Fields, and none of those others thing couldn’t possibly be contributing? Yeah, OK.
Maybe, and I mean maybe…if he played for Shanahan or O’Connell you’d see the best version. Still waiting for an answer on why Steelers benched him and cut him loose if he has potential? Was the Steelers organization, OL, OC, etc THAT bad too?
Or they understand that it’s easier to try to fix even the most broken Porsche than to try to drive a toaster.
Is there a more talented QB readily available to the Steelers?
There is not.
Thats nice, has nothing to do with your comment that i replied to tho
Name a QB readily available to the Steelers with more talent than Justin Fields.
Again, not related to what I said. But if youre so interested, Google FA QBs 2025 and get to reading.
I already know the answer.
And so do you. Which is why you will not answer.
There is not.
Lol you keep telling yourself that. The QB F/A market is thin and Fields is still a consolation prize/last resort for teams. He will likely be a backup somewhere and you will keep thinking about what could have been
Yeah, the market is thin, which makes him the best option available (and the one with the highest upside) even if that option isn’t great.
When your options are not great, should you go with the best one? Or an even less great option?
Hes not the best option. You can keep pretending he is, does it make it so.
*doesnt
OK, who is?
Go to google, im not doing the work for you. He cant pass more than 15yds hahaha
to throw u a bone tho, Sam Darnold
Aaaaaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers
Aaaaaaron Rodddddgersssss
Test the market?? LOL
If you think he doesn’t have a market, you don’t know football.
Would not be surprised if Seattle takes a flyer on him, or Cleveland if they can get him cheap.
There are always teams looking for QBs out there.Is he going to get a king’s ransom? No, but there will be a team out there that takes a flyer on him. I wish him well as he has been run through a ringer with the Bears, and done little favors by the Steelers.
Wilson signing w Steelers for min last year made him the choice for 2025.
I’d tell my agent to call the titans and jets compete my butt off in training camp to win the job. Fields is maybe a year and a half away from being a journeyman back for life. It’s now or never
Honestly the QB situation is so bad that Aaron Rodgers might be the best option between him, fields and Russ
Comes with drama, but as long as Tomlin is HC there won’t ever be a lack of drama in Pittsburgh regardless
The Steelers with ARodge would clearly be better than the Jets with Fields
They’re bidding against other teams now. It’s possible Fields doesn’t have exact numbers teams will offer but he has enough info to know if it’s better to wait until Tuesday.
Just tag Fields and be done with it for one year
Lol
This QB drama in Pittsburgh is running on fumes because with a weak OL it really doesn’t matter what the outcome is. Perhaps the media could spice things up a bit by suggesting live arms in the Pirates bullpen are being considered 🙂
They really ought to just blow up the roster at this point. They won’t, of course
Get rid of your big contracts and load up on draft picks.
Because let’s face it, they’re in a tough spot
The talent they have isn’t good enough to propel the team into top tier level. And they only have so much cap space
This is like Groundhog’s Day
I didn’t think the O-line was that bad last season.
Not great, but wasn’t abysmal like the past few seasons prior. McCormick did a great job as a rookie, looks like a future star at guard. Frazier got a passing grade as a rookie as well, made some mistakes, but has a more complicated role. Left side Broderick Jones should be entering his prime heading into year 3. I expect him to be near elite at LT.
Hopefully that RT they drafted last season makes a full recovery in time for week 1. Would really help take this line to the next level.
Overall i like the group, just need some time to develop together.
Just need a veteran depth tackle with Moore hitting the market.
O-line is the least of my worries with this roster. It’s just everything else now that needs a buff
I wish Fields well, he has talent, is a good kid, and wants to be a good QB. He just needs to be more confident in his abilities and needs a staff that can get it out of him. I just hope that a team sees that and gives him a shot, and I hope he does well if anything just to shut up all of these people saying its all his fault that he has had little success so far.
Then again he could win a SB throwing for 400 yards and 4 TDs and they would still likely crap on him.
Justin Fields is a serviceable QB and I doubt anyone could have excelled behind the offensive lines he had in Chicago and Pittsburgh. Does he have things to work on and improve…of course but he has the one thing you really can’t teach and that’s speed. Somebody is going to get a young Quarterback that will get better with better coaching and offensive line. He has plenty of arm strength and his recognition of defense will get better. If I’m Pittsburgh he is the one I would keep going forward…Wilson is on his last legs