The popular line on the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback situation mid-season was that the team will bring back Russell Wilson on a multiyear contract. However, five losses in a row to end the campaign — including one in the playoffs — appears to have changed the math on that outcome significantly.
Pittsburgh hasn’t indicated definitively its plans and likely won’t for several weeks to come. And ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported on Monday, Jan. 21, that there are plenty in the know around the NFL who expect Wilson could be back in black and gold come the 2025 preseason.
But there exists another faction that sees the Steelers moving on from Wilson, though not necessarily from the man he replaced after six games last season — former Chicago Bears first-round pick Justin Fields. Fowler himself predicted that Pittsburgh will re-sign Fields as well as ink a rookie quarterback to a multiyear contract by way of the NFL draft, which will take place in late April.
“The Russell Wilson experiment was not a failure — he showed promise and gave the offense a lift midseason. But he was signed to help the Steelers in the playoffs, where Pittsburgh lost in the first round again,” Fowler wrote. “Some executives believe the Steelers could bring back Wilson. But Fields is 25, 11 years younger, and has an explosive skill set around which the team could build — at least for one more year.”
Pittsburgh selects No. 21 overall in the first round and may choose not to use that pick on a quarterback given the relative weakness of this draft class at that position.
However, the Steelers could get into the game for a QB with the No. 52 pick depending on where they project the signal-callers an echelon below the first tier to come off the board — players like Jalen Milore of Alabama or Quinn Ewers of Texas, for example.
Another option for Pittsburgh is to trade back off of the 21st pick if the team decides to prioritize quarterback with its first selection. That could potentially line the Steelers up to make a play for the third QB off the board behind Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders either late in the first round or early in the second round, while also allowing the franchise to pick up an extra selection down the line on Day 2 or Day 3.
