The Pittsburgh Steelers, with the guidance of their General Manager Omar Khan, have demonstrated a willingness to take a different approach. As per Elias Sports, via a post on X shared by ESPN Steelers beat writer Brooke Pryor, this is the first time since 1957 the team will not retain any quarterbacks from the previous year on their roster. The acquisition of Russell Wilson and the trade for Justin Fields marks a significant transformation for the team, but former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel believes it is a positive change.
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Former Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson (#3) scrambles out of the pocket during a professional football game.
Daniel had a 13-year career as a backup quarterback in the NFL. He played for the New Orleans Saints, Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions and the Los Angeles Chargers. Since retiring in 2022, Daniel has started working in the media industry, helping to produce content for NFL Network, The Athletic, and the 33rd Team. When the news broke that the Steelers were making a trade to acquire Fields, Daniel posted a reaction video on X.
"The Steelers quarterback room has been completely re-made," he said. "You trade Kenny Pickett. You get rid of Mason Rudolph. You get Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. It gives you the best one-two-punch overall in the entire NFL, and Justin is, without a doubt, the best backup quarterback in the NFL."
Daniel is a big believer in Fields. He said he feels like the 11th overall pick from the 2021 draft is on an upward trajectory and has a high ceiling. Fields threw for a career-high 2,562 yards in 13 games in 2023 while adding 16 touchdowns, and throwing a career-low nine interceptions. The former Ohio State Buckeye also contributed 657 rushing yards and four scores on the ground.
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Justin Fields dons a visor during his time as quarterback for the Chicago Bears.
Wilson is coming off a tumultuous tenure with the Denver Broncos. Wilson struggled, as did the team as a whole, in his first year in Denver under Head Coach Nathaniel Hackett, who didn't even last through the whole year. Wilson had the worst completion percentage of his career under Hackett and threw 11 interceptions while being the most sacked quarterback in the NFL.
After Hackett was replaced by Sean Payton in 2023, Wilson improved significantly. He threw 26 touchdowns and only had only eight interceptions. On top of that, he reduced his sack rate from 10.2 to 9.1. He is no longer the same guy he was in Seattle who made nine Pro Bowls, but his second season in Denver proved that he's still a very capable starting quarterback.
Pittsburgh struggled immensely in the red zone in 2023. Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph, and Mitch Trubisky made a combined five red zone passing touchdowns in the 2023 season. Wilson had 20 and Fields had eight last season. Fields and Wilson also both had three red zone rushing touchdowns in 2023.
Steelers "Easily Win" Trade For Fields
Daniel said it's not even close when you look at who the winner of this trade is. The Bears had reportedly been looking for a similar return to the New York Jets' trade of 2018 third-overall pick Sam Darnold to the Carolina Panthers, which was a 2021 sixth-round pick plus second and fourth-round selections in 2022. That quickly evaporated when quarterbacks started to fill spots on the depth chart with the Bears' potential trading partners. In the end, Chicago wanted to do right by Fields and sent him to his preferred destination for pennies on the dollar.
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Justin Fields runs away from former Steelers cornerback Cam Sutton during a 2021 regular season game.
As Daniel pointed out in his break down the Steelers will be paying a total of almost $4.5 million to their top two quarterbacks. Wilson comes to Pittsburgh on a league minimum deal and Fields is in the last year of his rookie contract which will pay him just over $3.2 million. Pittsburgh will have to decide whether they want to pick up Fields' fifth-year option before the May deadline but it seems more likely they will find a way to keep the cap charge lower.
Do you agree with Daniel that Pittsburgh has a top quarterback room with the recent changes? Do you see the Steelers as big winners of the trade? Comment below!
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