Did Steelers really want Justin Fields over Aaron Rodgers for 2025 season?

A previous report suggested that the Pittsburgh Steelers only pivoted to pursuing quarterback Aaron Rodgers in free agency after they failed to trade for Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams and re-sign Justin Fields.

During a Tuesday appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," NFL insider and ESPN personality Peter Schrager addressed why Fields left the Steelers and agreed to a two-year, $40M contract that included $30M guaranteed from the New York Jets in March. 

"If they really wanted Fields, they would've paid Fields big money," Schrager said about Pittsburgh, as shared by Alex Kozora of Steelers Depot. "That was my take on the whole thing. 'They really wanted Stafford.' Well, Stafford wasn't going...they didn't really want Fields. If they really wanted Fields, you give him $40M and you're there."

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin seemed to make his feelings on Fields clear last season when Tomlin benched the 26-year-old in favor of a healthy Russell Wilson in Week 7, even though Fields notched four wins in six starts as Wilson recovered from a lingering calf problem. Tomlin later kept Wilson as Pittsburgh's QB1 even though the club ultimately ended the season with a five-game losing streak that lasted through the wild-card round of the playoffs. 

Fair or not, the perception exists that Tomlin was always going to want an upgrade at the position for 2025. Meanwhile, Stafford reportedly accepted less money than he could've received from a different team to stay with the Rams because he "never really wanted to leave" Los Angeles this past winter. 

"These guys are gonna galvanize and they will rally around Aaron Rodgers," Schrager added about the Steelers during the segment, per Matthew Marczi of Steelers Depot. "...They believe internally they're in a lot better place right now than they were a year ago." 

Such belief is a big reason some reporters and analysts feel it's a matter of when and not if Pittsburgh will give star pass-rusher T.J. Watt the contract extension he wants before Steelers players are due to report to training camp on July 23. As Schrager noted, the Steelers didn't wait until early June for Rodgers to officially put pen to paper on his team-friendly contract "to not have Super Bowl expectations" for the upcoming season.