Shortly after the Pittsburgh Steelers’ season ended with a five-game collapse and another first-round flameout in the postseason, team president and owner Art Rooney II set the stage for the offseason when he stated his preference was to re-sign either Justin Fields or Russell Wilson.
“That’ll be the priority,” Rooney said. “I think that will give us the best opportunity to move forward.”
Justin or Russ? Russ or Justin?
From the moment the Steelers created this unique quarterback dynamic last offseason, the debate has raged about which passer should be QB1 now and into the future. Over the past two months, it’s continued as members of the media and fan base have picked apart the arguments for both sides.
As the NFL’s legal tampering period approached on Monday, it appeared the Steelers would finally reveal their decision. Instead, Monday came and went — and so did Fields. As Day 2 of the negotiating window begins, the Steelers still don’t have a quarterback, nor an obvious answer to a question that has lingered since Ben Roethlisberger retired.
What was sold to the public as a decision between the two incumbents turned out to be much more complicated than a simple choice between Door No. 1 and Door No. 2.
Yes, internally, the Steelers did want Fields to be their quarterback in 2025 … but they also wanted him back at their price. When the New York Jets offered a two-year, $40 million deal with $30 million guaranteed, the quarterback the Steelers benched after a 4-2 start to the season moved on.
It’s hard to fault him, especially after Fields handled his demotion with the utmost professionalism and class. But it might not be too soon to start assigning at least some level of fault to Pittsburgh’s decision-makers.
Last offseason, the Steelers gambled when they declined to extend Fields after acquiring him for just a sixth-round pick, which was, at the time, a great bargain. Had they taken steps to lock down Fields, they could either have their QB in place right now or, if they weren’t totally sold, flipped him for more compensation. Instead, they let the process play out.
Even after the season ended, the Steelers had the chance to get a jump on the market. Weeks ago, they could have tried to bring the decision to a head and get Fields to put pen to paper. However, by letting it drag out until late in the process, they gave Fields the opportunity to test his market value, and he found a bigger payday elsewhere.
Now, look: There was never a guarantee Fields would be the Steelers’ franchise quarterback. Actually, it’s pretty unlikely he would have been. How many quarterbacks have taken a significant step forward from Year 4 to Year 5?
At the same time, Fields was probably the best of the available options, given the uninspiring rookie class and red flags in free agency. A logical move would have been to pay Fields for two seasons, give him an entire year to work with Arthur Smith and then either stick with him long term or pivot by drafting a quarterback in 2026.
But the powers that be chose otherwise.
So now what? That’s the question everyone is asking.
Last year, in a similarly uninspiring market, the Steelers chose the low-risk, low-cost options. Through his first seven starts, Wilson looked like the best bargain in football, playing on a veteran minimum contract. Maybe it’s still possible they can get better quarterback play for less than what the Jets are paying Fields.
But right now, that feels like a gamble.
The best reasonably young alternative, 27-year-old Sam Darnold, agreed to a three-year, $100.5 million deal in Seattle. He’s off the market. That leaves Aaron Rodgers, Wilson and Daniel Jones as the top names still left in a picked-over free agency class. It’s also possible Kirk Cousins could be available via trade or if he’s cut, although he’s likely to wait until after the draft to choose his destination to avoid being unseated by a rookie like he was last year.
It seems the most likely marriage is with Rodgers. Yes, he’s a four-time NFL MVP, Super Bowl champion and Hall of Famer. But he’s also 41 years old, a lightning-rod personality and less than 18 months removed from a torn Achilles.
After vacationing in Egypt during mandatory minicamp last year, Rodgers was a shell of his former self in his first full season with the Jets. He appeared timid when it came time to throw downfield. Once a magician with mobility, buying time to create outside of structure, Rodgers transformed into a statue. As a result, he was one of the NFL’s worst QBs against the blitz, with a minus-0.20 EPA per dropback against five or more rushers. Only Anthony Richardson was worse.
As a whole, Rodgers’ 2024 stats — 3,897 passing yards, 28 touchdowns, 11 interceptions — were artificially inflated by the fact he attempted the second-most passes in the league (which doesn’t seem to fit with a run-first offense) and that he played tons of garbage-time football.
Compare Rodgers’ 2024 numbers to Wilson’s, who still has an outside shot to return if Rodgers ends up with the New York Giants or elsewhere. Wilson comes out on top in several of the most meaningful categories.
Now, we could go on, but let’s just put it in blunt terms: Steelers assistant general manager Andy Weidl’s best friend in the business is former Jets GM Joe Douglas, who once was seen as an up-and-coming builder after drafting the offensive (Garrett Wilson) and defensive (Sauce Gardner) rookies of the year in the same 2022 class. But because Douglas believed in Rodgers too much — and tried to surround the QB with his preferred players — he’s now without a job.
The Steelers’ decision-makers are flirting with the same fate.
The only way this makes sense is if the Steelers can get Rodgers to agree to a short-term deal at a low price, with the thought that he could provide the bridge to the 2026 draft class, which features a much more robust crop of QBs. But if they overcommit, they might be sentencing the franchise to its own darkness retreat.
