New report suggests Steelers recent QB acquisition is already on thin ice

League sources do not expect the Steelers to pick up the $25 million fifth-year option on quarterback Justin Fields, whom the team acquired last month for a conditional 2025 6th-round pick. Fields and Russell Wilson both now will be entering the last year of their contracts. -Adam Schefter, ESPN

Fields was acquired by Pittsburgh a little over a month ago in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. 

A small price to pay for a former first-round pick who has shown flashes of brilliance, despite Pittsburgh’s willingness to take a shot on Fields, it won’t come at the cost of the franchise. 

See, first round picks all have rookie contracts that include four years of guaranteed money that is slotted before they ever play a snap. 

But they also come with 5th year option’s that can pay out a hefty salary should the team decide to exercise that option. 

For QBs like Fields, that option is a whopping $25 million and some change. Not to mention the team has to decide on their own first round pick from 2021 with Najee Harris, though he seems like a no-brainer given his 5th year option totals out at less than $7 million.

So the report comes with little surprise, as despite saying they will hold off on any official decisions regarding 5th-year options until the draft, Steelers GM Omar Khan wouldn’t rule out a late-round QB addition, citing three QBs on one-year deals as a part of his reasoning. 

Meaning, while Pittsburgh’s overhaul of the QB position has yet to see the field, there’s a decent chance the team is back in the same situation next year.