Steelers' Art Rooney II addresses Russell Wilson, Justin Fields offseason conundrum

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields both remain on track to reach free agency when the new league year opens on March 12.  

Some fans and local media personalities believe the Steelers should look for an upgrade at the position this offseason, but team owner and president Art Rooney II revealed on Monday that he wants to keep either Wilson or Fields in the club's quarterback room for another campaign. 

"I think they’re both capable quarterbacks, and my preference would be to sign one of them," Rooney said about Wilson and Fields, as shared by The Athletic's Mike DeFabo. "That’ll be a priority, and I think that will give us the best opportunity to move forward. Obviously, we’ll be looking in the draft as well. We’ve got a whole quarterback room to fill, and so there’s jobs open in there. I wouldn’t be surprised if we look at the draft, as well, either this year or next." 

Steelers Depot's Jeremy Pike pointed out that Rooney offered his comments shortly after team insider Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said during an appearance on the "Randy Baumann and the DVE Morning Show" program that he believed at that time the Steelers could re-sign Wilson "maybe in the next two or so weeks" based on what Dulac has been "hearing." 

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin seemingly said plenty about his team's quarterback situation when he allegedly always planned to start a healthy Wilson over Fields this past summer. Tomlin then turned to Wilson in Week 7 of the 2024 season after the veteran recovered from a lingering calf injury even though Fields went 4-2 as a starter, and Tomlin later stuck with Wilson through what became a five-game losing streak that was capped off by Pittsburgh's 28-14 wild-card playoff defeat at the Baltimore Ravens. 

Tomlin reportedly remains a big Wilson supporter, and Wilson said last week that his "goal is to be with the Pittsburgh Steelers a long time and hopefully finish my career there." Meanwhile, Rooney gave Tomlin a public vote of confidence on Monday and also said he'd prefer for either Wilson or Fields to sign a multiyear contract to stay with the organization. 

"It sort of takes two to tango, and so we’ll see where it goes," Rooney added. "I think my preference would probably be to have something more than a one-year (deal) in place next time around. We’ll see where it takes us."

Unsurprisingly, Rooney admitted it's "unlikely" both quarterbacks would run it back with the Steelers since "both of them see themselves as starters" and probably wouldn't "want to share the same job again next year." Unless Tomlin has experienced a change of heart since the evening of Jan. 11, history shows he has more faith in Wilson than in Fields regarding the 2025 Steelers attempting to do more than simply return to the playoffs.