Was this the Steelers' QB plan all along?

As the NFL’s offseason is fully underway with the start of the free agency period, the Pittsburgh Steelers ended the first week of the signing period without a defined starter at the quarterback position. Some fans feel the team has botched finding a long-term solution at the position following the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger.

It’s unfair to fault the Steelers for not replacing Ben so quickly. Finding a replacement for a future Hall of Famer can be a difficult task at any position. It was never apparent when Roethlisberger would hang up his cleats. Because of that moving target, the Steelers were in a tough place to waste draft picks or spend money on a viable heir when they were still attempting to win championships with Big Ben.

Following his retirement, Pittsburgh has attempted all avenues of finding their next franchise quarterback, including reclamation projects of former first-round picks (Mitchell Trubisky, Justin Fields), using a first-round pick to draft a rookie (Kenny Pickett) or kicking the tires on former Super Bowl-winning veterans (Russell Wilson). Those efforts proved fruitless, as all three of the quarterbacks on the 2023 depth chart (Trubisky, Pickett, and Rudolph) were gone following that season.

This offseason is set to look similar, with two of the three players from the 2024 depth chart having signed with other teams. While Russell Wilson is still available, third-string QB Kyle Allen has signed with the Detroit Lions while Justin Fields agreed to terms on a substantial contract with the New York Jets. Some fans are calling the handling of Fields a mistake. However, it’s a mistake to think that way.

Pittsburgh’s current path may have been its plan all along. With the previous path of developing a quarterback (Rudolph, Pickett) or trying to tap the potential in a failed first-round pick (Trubisky), the Steelers set out to do something different in 2024.

One of the bigger misconceptions last season is that the Steelers heavily pursued Fields as their starter. Weeks went by with no news until former Super Bowl winner Russell Wilson was released from the Denver Broncos. Due to being owed a substantial amount by his former team, Wilson became an easy free-agent target with a bottom-dollar contract.

It wasn’t until Wilson signed with the Steelers that Kenny Pickett demanded a trade. Pickett was unwilling to compete or play behind the veteran and was traded, leaving the team without a backup. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has always preferred an experienced quarterback as his second option and the Chicago Bears just happened to have a former first-round selection they were willing to part with (Fields).

The early speculation that the Steelers had their eyes set on Fields as their starter, long before the Wilson signing, was never substantiated. Rather, the media would double-down on their assumptions during the summer when Fields took all of the starting reps throughout camp and the preseason in place of an injured Wilson. The narrative was a change of scenery would mean a second chance for Justin Fields, and a possible long-term quarterback solution for the Steelers.

In relief of Wilson, Fields would start the first six games of the season. Tomlin, never a believer that a player should lose his job due to injury, would go back to Wilson as his starter. Despite leading the Steelers to a 4-2 record, Fields would not start another game all season. Wilson would start hot then sputter to a five-game losing streak to conclude the year.

Now neither appear to be Pittsburgh’s option for 2025, with Fields heading to New York and Wilson visiting other teams in pursuit of a new deal elsewhere. To outside observers, Pittsburgh’s process appears broken, but perhaps its only unconventional. After all, the Steelers already ran through former starters and spent a first round pick on the top quarterback on that draft class.

Having already had a free trial of what Fields looked like as a starter in 2024, the Steelers were already planning for 2025. Initially, they had declined Fields' fifth-year option (which was in the ballpark of $23 million). If they were unwilling to pay that price tag, it was unlikely GM Omar Khan was willing to pay more.

There may be truth that Fields had discussions about a return, but that could also be chatter for agents to help manipulate their client’s market. This would also be a valid explanation for why Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers remain unsigned. The media sees two veteran quarterbacks without jobs and begins connecting dots to teams with holes at the position. 

Plus, the team's franchise cornerstone already seems fed up with the Rodgers drama.

To believe the Steelers have botched the most important position is a fundamental lack of understanding from their perspective. Retaining Fields, at a lower cost, may have been desired. Yet, that could’ve been a smokescreen for a potential quarterback draft pick. Whether it’s this year or next, a long-term deal with money tied to Fields – and no promise of entering the year as the starter – may have been a deciding factor in his signing with the Jets.

The same could be said about Wilson and Rodgers. There might have been interest, but the two veterans staring down an unproven Sam Darnold’s three-year, $100 million deal with the Seahawks has certainly been discussed as a basis for ongoing contract talks. 

Mason Rudolph fits the bridge criteria. Wilson, Fields or Rodgers would as well, but those incorrectly seeing the Steelers as “cheap” are failing to see the bigger picture where the team could blossom under new leadership and compete across the board without a substantial sum tied to those quarterbacks.

Such is the current dilemma in the NFL. The quarterback position is important, and that’s why Pittsburgh added help for its eventual starter by pursuing DK Metcalf while also using their capital to rebuild the offensive line over the last few seasons. With the right stroke of luck, what appears to be an uncanny approach now could be the blueprint for how rebuilding teams operate in the future.