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 constructing it clear recent trade acquisition Justin Fields won’t have a likelihood to start the season as their starter, they’re expected to take a special route regarding his fifth-year option.
The team is “highly unlikely” to exercise Fields’ fifth-year option, in response to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac. Seeing as it will cost Pittsburgh $25.7MM fully guaranteed to select 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 probably be Pittsburgh’s Week 1 starter.
Although the Steelers aren’t planning to select up Fields’ option, Dulac adds they aren’t 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 yr. That may make a post-2024 Fields commitment tricky, but Dulac indicates the 2021 Bears first-rounder is being viewed by the Steelers because the potential quarterback of the long run.
For the reason that 2014 offseason brought the primary set of fifth-year option decisions, just 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 began well. Fields also would seemingly be excited by seeing what his 2025 market would seem 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 won’t 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 a lot of the teams eyeing Fields did so with an eye fixed on making him a backup. This limited Fields’ market. Suits definitely played a task here, with the Ohio State alum definitely being higher than a number of teams’ starters at present. But a number of QB-needy teams are readying to deal with those issues within the draft. The Broncos wouldn’t have seemed a Fields fit, and so they will probably be linked to a draft addition to pair with Jarrett Stidham. Bears GM Ryan Poles reportedly turned down a greater offer to send Fields to a more favorable situation in Pittsburgh, Cronin and Pryor add. Fields indeed desired to be dealt to the Steelers, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets. Though, it will be shocking if the offer Poles rejected was significantly higher than the Steelers’ proposal.
Wilson, 35, carried a rather higher QBR mark than Fields in 2023 — when the then-Broncos QB bounced back, to a level, under Sean Payton — however the Steelers going from putting Kenny Pickett in a contest for the starting job to handing Wilson the keys without Fields factoring in represents a somewhat surprising development.
Fields, 25, has definitely shown warts as a passer. But Wilson’s shakier status would make this example 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 after they signed Bridgewater after which Winston, while it will surely not surprise to see Wilson benching rumors emerge — now that the Steelers have acquired a starter-caliber backup — this yr.
While the Steelers have significant questions at quarterback beyond 2024, their situation is undoubtedly higher than it stood exiting the 2023 season. For now, nevertheless, they may walk a tightrope with Wilson and Fields each tentatively of their post-2024 plans. After an uneven three years in Chicago, Fields will begin his contract yr in a wildly different situation.
