Each the Steelers’ top two quarterbacks are in Pittsburgh after unusual separations from their previous teams. Jettisoned after a rocky Denver tenure, Russell Wilson counts for a record-shattering dead money figure on the Broncos’ payroll. The Bears-Panthers swap for the 2023 No. 1 pick created one other No. 1 selection for Chicago after Carolina’s 2-15 season, resulting in the Bears capitalizing via Caleb Williams this 12 months.
After showing some progress down the stretch last season, Fields remains to be viewed as a transparent backup to Wilson with the Steelers. The three-year Bears starter said he shouldn’t be prepared to sit down behind Wilson for the season’s entirety. Although the Steelers have given Wilson indications he can be the starter, Mike Tomlin has left the door ajar to a training camp competition.
“I’m definitely competing,” Fields said, via ESPN.com’s Brooke Pryor. “I feel Russ knows that we’re competing against one another day-after-day. Him being on the market for me, that helps me recovering, especially one another. I definitely don’t have the mindset of me just sitting all 12 months.”
Turning 25 earlier this 12 months, Fields is greater than 10 years younger than Wilson. The 2021 first-round pick is actually not as polished as a passer but offers a more dynamic presence by comparison, though Wilson did display more within the run game under Sean Payton than he did during a bizarrely ineffective season under Nathaniel Hackett. QBR placed Wilson two spots ahead of Fields last season (twenty first, twenty third), though passer rating gave a substantial edge to the then-Broncos starter. Wilson’s 26 passes and eight interceptions highlighted a bounce-back campaign — to a level, at the very least — and an eighth-place finish in rating (in comparison with Fields’ twenty second).
As for the prospect of this becoming a straight-up competition come August, The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly points to no such setup developing. Barring injury, Kaboly notes there is no such thing as a likelihood Fields unseats Wilson to start the season (subscription required).
This matches up with how the Steelers addressed the situation following the Fields trade. Wilson was told before the Kenny Pickett trade he can be the starter; that was amongst the explanations the 2022 first-rounder was dealt to the Eagles. This messaging continued following the Fields trade, with Tomlin contacting Wilson before the Steelers acquired the ex-Bears starter to make sure him the QB1 job can be his. The 18th-year Pittsburgh HC then brought up competition for the job, though it remains to be assumed Wilson is the clubhouse leader.
Despite Fields landing with a team that — as of now, at the very least — plans to log off on a demotion, the dual-threat performer confirmed a previously reported notion he desired to be traded to Pittsburgh. The Falcons, Raiders and Vikings were also on Fields’ list of acceptable destinations prior to free agency. Ryan Poles had said he desired to do right by Fields, and while reports of the third-year Bears GM turning down a greater offer to make certain Fields landed on his feet probably doesn’t mean one other proposal was significantly higher, the brand new Steelers QB thanked his former GM for trading him to the Steelers.
“Shoutout to Poles. We communicated to him through my agent, and I told him where I desired to be and this was a spot I desired to be,” Fields said. “He honored that, and I appreciate him for that and glad he was in a position to put me in a spot where I desired to be at.”
The Bears only received a conditional 2025 sixth-round pick for Fields; that selection might be bumped to a fourth if the previous 1,000-yard rusher plays 51% of the Steelers’ offensive snaps this season.
The Steelers have expressed interest in having each Wilson and Fields back in 2025. It might be highly unlikely that involves pass, as each players are on expiring contracts and every is accustomed to starting. A Wilson-Fields pecking order could change through the season, but months away from Week 1, the Steelers’ QB plan would only have them sending a sixth-rounder to the Bears.
