The Pittsburgh Steelers and General Manager Omar Khan have had their most productive offseason in recent memory in 2024. They have completely restructured their quarterback room, admitting their mistake in drafting Kenny Pickett in the first round in 2022. They ended up trading him to the Philadelphia Eagles along with a fourth-round pick for a third-round pick and two future seventh round selections. They have also signed Russell Wilson to a cheap one-year deal, and traded a conditional sixth-round pick in 2025 to the Chicago Bears for Justin Fields.
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Steelers' new quarterback Justin Fields playing in Pittsburgh during his rookie year
The biggest question in the NFL going into the 2024 offseason revolved around the Bears, Fields, and the first overall pick. The assumption was the Bears would trade Fields, and they did, despite it happening later than most expected. Fields was expected to have a large and lucrative trade market, but that was not the case. The Bears and General Manager Ryan Poles wanted to do right by the young quarterback and send him to a place he can succeed and continue his career, which is why they decided to strike a deal with Pittsburgh despite receiving better offers from other teams which was reported by Courtney Cronin of ESPN.
"The Bears decided they wanted a clean slate for everyone involved, and the reason they took this trade offer from the Pittsburgh Steelers, after having, what I was told, an offer to send Justin to a place where there was already an established starting quarterback that would have actually yielded the Bears a better deal in return, it's about doing right by Justin Fields and giving him the opportunity to go continue his career somewhere else."
Poles and the Bears wanted to take the best deal for the organization while also setting Fields up in a spot to succeed. In Pittsburgh, he will likely be the backup to Wilson, who will be a great, experienced veteran with a similar play style to learn from. Sending Fields to a team with an established starter in 2024 and beyond would have been a fast track to being a career backup quarterback, and probably would have ended his chances of being a successful starter.
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Steelers' quarterback Russell Wilson and Justin Fields meet on the field following a 2023 matchup
It is very likely that the team that sent Chicago a better offer for Fields was the Eagles, who were reportedly interested in him but once the asking price from Chicago got too high, they pivoted and contacted Pittsburgh about trading for Pickett. Philadelphia has Jalen Hurts signed through the 2028 season, and Fields would not have been given a chance to succeed as a quarterback for the Eagles. Wilson is currently only under contract with Pittsburgh for the 2024 season, and depending on what happens, Fields could be the future of the position for Pittsburgh, which Cronin touched on during her segment on SportsCenter.
"Now, the Pittsburgh Steelers are not invested in Russell Wilson beyond the 2024 season, we know that Russ is expected to be the starter this year. But this is about as clear of a path as Justin Fields will have to one day regaining a starting role beyond this season, and ultimately the Bears felt that they needed to do right and move Justin now before dragging this thing out much longer."
Fields will need to accept the backup role with Pittsburgh, and do the best he can to learn as much as possible from Wilson. Pittsburgh has until May 2nd to decide whether or not to pick up his fifth-year option, which would come with a cap hit of over $25.5 million for Pittsburgh in 2025. It is more likely Fields and Pittsburgh agree to an extension, which would give Fields more time in Pittsburgh to prove his worth.
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Justin Fields walks off the field as a Chicago Bear
Steelers' Omar Khan Robbed The Bears Once Again
Khan and Poles have a one-sided relationship that started in 2022 when Pittsburgh traded Chase Claypool to the Bears for a 2023 second round pick. Due to the Miami Dolphins having to forfeit their first round selection in 2023, the pick wound up being the 32nd selection in the draft. The Steelers used that to draft Joey Porter Jr., who is on track to become one of the better cornerbacks in the league and was a Defensive Rookie Of The Year finalist in 2023.
Khan has now built a quarterback room that has a cap hit of less than $5 million, and only costed a 2025 conditional sixth round pick. If Fields plays over half the snaps for the Steelers offense in 2024 the pick will convert to a fourth round selection, if he doesn't, it remains a sixth rounder. It's a true win-win situation for Pittsburgh. Fields can either blow everyones expectations out of the water and become a starter, or he can sit back and learn from Wilson for the cost a future sixth round selection.
What do you think of the Bears passing up on a better offer to send Fields to Pittsburgh? Let us know in the comments!
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