The Pittsburgh Steelers know their quarterback. The team is hoping to retain at least one of their 2024 starters, and is realistic enough to understand they probably can’t keep both. So, they’re faced with the decision to pick one. A decision they have already made – under one condition.
In 2024, Justin Fields started six games, going 4-2 and scoring 10 touchdowns. The former first-round pick is about to turn just 26-years-old and showed plenty of growth in his first season with a new team.
The plan this offseason is to build a quarterback room that looks the same. Team President Art Rooney II acknowledged that, last season, the biggest issue for offensive coordinator Arthur Smith was having to re-create offenses for Fields and Russell Wilson. This year, the goal is to pick backups that match the starter.
The belief there is that it won’t only help Smith, but allow the quarterback to continue growing and work in an offense built for him. Fields never had that opportunity as he stepped into Wilson’s offense and tried to keep the team alive while their starting quarterback was injured.
In 2025, they see things differently.
According to a team source, the Steelers want to retain Fields and make him their starting quarterback this upcoming season, but only if Fields’ contract is “reasonable.”
Pittsburgh is well aware that negotiations are a two-way street and that players and teams need to come to an agreement on terms no matter how much each side wants to make it work. In this instance, the Steelers are negotiating a deal for a quarterback who they’re taking a shot on, but who they also believes carries potential. The NFL probably feels the same way.
With the market thin at the position, it’s unknown how the quarterbacks available feel about their value and where it stands. On the Steelers side, they believe Fields could be an answer to a problem they’ve failed to solve since Ben Roethlisberger retired, and are willing to give the former 11th-overall pick a second chance in the league.
Rooney spoke recently about wanting the quarterback deal to be somewhat long-term. So, with their parameters in place, the team will begin trying to lock down Fields for the upcoming season.
How it ends will be determined by how “reasonable” the deal can be.
