The Pittsburgh Steelers are slowly inching closer to decision time when it comes to what they are going to do with Justin Fields and Russell Wilson. They have only until March 12th to make their move on their two quarterbacks before free agency begins. While the start of the Wilson era had many fans hopeful of finally seeing playoff football back in the Steel City, a five-game collapse ended all hope for that and a quick exit from the playoffs. Fields on the other hand, is still in the prime of his career. He is just 26 years old and has 44 starts under his belt. He showed some promise in his six starts for Pittsburgh and was given plenty of time to develop even more under a former Super Bowl winning quarterback through the process. While many people are torn about which direction Pittsburgh should go, Ben Roethlisberger feels that the Steelers cannot make a wrong move between the two.
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Steelers' Justin Fields throws the football during Friday Night Lights.
Gerry Dulac sat down with Roethlisberger and talked about the direction the Steelers could go with the quarterback position. He believes if Wilson is willing to take a cheaper deal, that Pittsburgh should roll with him. If Wilson wants to be paid, then going with Fields is a low risk, high reward move for the Steelers.
"If Russ is willing to take a lower deal for less money, I'd go with Russ," said Roethlisberger. "If not, I don't think it's an issue to give Justin a shot. Why not? Let him be in the same system for another year. Give him a chance. What's the worst that happens? If you go with Justin, you pay him less money than Russ, you save some money, and if it goes well, you've got a guy who plays well. If it doesn't go well, you're right back where you are now and you can draft a guy."
Roethlisberger believes that the Steelers shouldn't try to replicate what they did last season, hit the reset button and find another veteran quarterback which could lead to the same result as this past season. If Wilson or Fields do not work out in 2025, with a potential loaded 2026 quarterback draft class, maybe General Manager Omar Khan does all that he can to secure one of them.
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Steelers' Russell Wilson fumbles against the Baltimore Ravens.
With many Steelers fans growing more restless each season that ends with disappointment, Mike Tomlin and Khan knows that they must get the quarterback position right going into 2025. While Wilson's ability to hit the moon ball really opened up the passing game in the earlier part of the season, his inability to become mobile and taking sacks killed multiple drives. Fields is someone that the Steelers could hand the keys to since Tomlin has made it clear that Fields showed him and the coaching staff that he could be their starter in 2025.
If the Steelers could save more money with Fields over Wilson, that could be the tie-breaker between the two quarterbacks. The Steelers do not want to be in a bidding war for Wilson, especially with the Las Vegas Raiders hiring his former head coach, Pete Carroll. Khan knows that he needs to make impactful moves this offseason, so the more money he can throw around in free agency -- the better opportunity that he can bring in playmakers that elevate the wide receiver room.
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Steelers' Omar Khan speaks at the NFL's Scouting Combine in 2024.
Steelers' Focus This Offseason Has To Be Centered Around The Offense
Khan is truly going to show his worth to the Steelers' organization if he can add the correct pieces needed to fill this offense with dynamic playmakers. First, he needs to figure out who is going to be leading the offense in Week 1. It might come down to who will take the cheaper deal. With multiple options in free agency that would become instant upgrades to the receiver position, Khan will need all of the ammunition he can get his hands on to ensure that they have the playmakers outside of George Pickens as well. The Steelers' 2025 offseason needs to solve a lot of their issues on offense, not creating more as they did last season and that starts with the quarterback position.
Do you agree with Roethlisberger that re-signing either Wilson or Fields to a cheap deal is low risk, high reward? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
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