The Pittsburgh Steelers are in quarterback purgatory. The coaching staff and front office want to give Kenny Pickett another chance after using a first round pick on him in 2022, but the availability of Justin Fields of the Chicago Bears, along with the lack of a market for him makes that difficult. The Steelers are one of the few teams that have been reported to be in talks with Chicago about getting a deal done for the young quarterback, with one of the other teams being the Atlanta Falcons.
Fields will be just 25 years old when training camp begins for the 2024 NFL season, which means he is younger than Pickett, despite being in the league for an extra year. Fields’ time in Chicago has been rocky. He has fought through injuries, while also dealing with constant changes along the coaching staff. Since entering the league in 2021, he has had two different head coaches and two different offensive coordinators, which can be a lot of change for a young player in the league. Former ESPN reporter Bomani Jones and former NFL player Domonique Foxworth discussed the possibilities of a Fields trade on Jones’ podcast, The Right Time With Bomani Jones.
“My guess is Justin Fields winds up in Pittsburgh. The tough thing about the Justin Fields conversation is we got to be honest about it. The potential for Justin Fields is still pretty high, but we have some proof of concept that he’s not gonna reach that height. I do believe in a different situation he could be much better, but I think it might be a little too late for that,” Foxworth said.
The Steelers have been interested in Fields, but the front office doesn’t want to overpay for him, especially when he has little to no market. According to a report from Adam Schefter, the Falcons’ number one option at quarterback is Kirk Cousins, which leaves just the Steelers and maybe a couple other mystery teams involved to acquire Fields. Jones responded to Foxworth by saying the Steelers should give up a first rounder for the quarterback.
“Is it really too late though? Fields is only 24. If I’m Pittsburgh, I’d give up a first round pick for him. If I’m Atlanta, I’d give up a first round pick for him. I feel like both of those teams are good enough that they’ll never be in a position to get a quarterback. The Steelers have not had a top five pick in the NFL Draft since 1970 when the organization selected Terry Bradshaw with the first overall pick. The Steelers haven’t had a losing season since 2003, and they haven’t sniffed a spot good enough in the draft to select one of the top quarterbacks since they drafted Ben Roethlisberger in 2004.”
Due to the Steelers consistently being a good-to-great team year in and year out, it’ll be hard to find a good quarterback unless it is via trade or free agency. This makes the opportunity to acquire Fields from Chicago even more important. A first round pick is out of the question. Despite Jones’ comments, Fields has a small market and he has struggled too much during his career for the Steelers to consider giving up a first round pick. However, a second round pick paired with a future fourth or fifth could be on the table according to Schefter, who gave his thoughts on the trade value for Fields.
Steelers Options At Quarterback Outside Of Fields
Pickett is currently the only quarterback on the Steelers who is under contract for the 2024 season. General Manager Omar Khan and Head Coach Mike Tomlin have made it clear they want to bring in “strong” competition for the starting job in 2024. This could be Fields, or it could be re-signing Mason Rudolph. The Steelers’ new Offensive Coordinator, Arthur Smith, also coached Ryan Tannehill when he was the offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans, and Tannehill happens to be a free agent heading into the 2024 season
