Do Steelers already have 2025 QB?
Guest Columnist Gerry Dulac makes case for Justin Fields
When the San Francisco 49ers hocked their future during the 2021 draft to take quarterback Trey Lance with the No. 3 overall pick, we said that might become the worst transaction in franchise history.
The only reason they have not been criticized more is that they lucked into quarterback Brock Purdy with the last pick of the 2022 draft. He took the 49ers to a championship game loss in which he played injured and then to an overtime Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Back to Lance. It wasn’t only that they used a No. 3 pick for a player we didn’t even rate in the top half of the first round or that they gave up three first-round and one third-round pick to get him so they could move up from No. 12.
Coach Kyle Shanahan was enamored with the athleticism he saw in Lance in all 19 games at North Dakota State, only one of which was in the previous COVID-impacted season. It was a reach that Shanahan thought he could make because of his superior coaching skills.
We were astonished that the 49ers didn’t make a less expensive deal to move up approximately one spot. That is where the Chicago Bears drafted Justin Fields, who we thought demonstrated plenty of athleticism at a higher level of competition, for Ohio State. The Bears traded up from No. 20, giving the New York Giants that 20th spot, their fifth-round pick in 2021, and their first and fourth-round picks in 2022.
Not only was it a cheaper move, but the difference in their rookie contracts was significant: about $34 million overall for the No. 3 pick and about $11 million for the No. 11 pick. But it’s all Monopoly money anyway, right?
Since that draft, we watched Lance devalue faster than a shiny new American-made car. After playing only four games with the 49ers, he was traded to the Dallas Cowboys, who refused to pick up his option last year. He was No. 3 again last year — on the depth chart — with a contract of about $5 million.
We watched Fields become only the third NFL quarterback to rush for 1,000 yards (1,143 in 2022) but otherwise struggle to maximize his talents, which seems to be a way of life as a Chicago quarterback. Quick, name the Bears’ last All-Pro quarterback. There have been 84 starters since the team began in 1920. Hold that thought.
On March 16, 2024, Fields was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft that would have converted to a fourth if he played 51 percent of the team's snaps. He didn’t. The Steelers declined the fifth-year option on Fields' contract, making him a free agent after the 2024 season.
Following a preseason quarterback competition between Fields and Russell Wilson, the Steelers announced that Fields would back up Wilson.
Wilson had some good moments, but the Steelers have not said he will be the starter for 2025. We still believe Fields has not had the chance to show those abilities he displayed in college. And because he is much younger than Wilson, Fields should be the quarterback the Steelers groom for the future.
Our long-time journalistic brother and friend Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette discussed this issue in Monday’s paper. Because we agree, I thought it was brilliant, of course.
If you are unable to link to the story (it may have a paywall), we provide it in full below.
Oh, one more thing: The last Chicago Bears quarterback to be selected All-Pro was Johnny Lujack in 1950. You remembered that, right?
Take it away, Gerry …
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BY GERRY DULAC, PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE
After watching the divisional round playoff games over the weekend, and knowing what is expected to be available in free agency, the Steelers might have already decided who will be their quarterback in 2025.
Mike Tomlin, who has been enamored with mobile quarterbacks and the problems they present for opposing defenses, was likely reminded of that when six of the eight teams who were remaining in the postseason had athletic quarterbacks who can run. Four of those teams are still alive in their pursuit of the Super Bowl.
The Steelers already have one of those: Justin Fields, who is the most athletic player on the team and the quarterback who was favored by some of the offensive coaches to be the starter this past season.
Granted, Fields does not have the credentials to be lumped into the same category as Jayden Daniels, Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes — the four quarterbacks left standing. But he has the same skill set. And the Steelers liked the way he developed from his Chicago days in the six games he started at the beginning of the season.
What’s more, any of the top quarterbacks who are expected to be available in free agency — Aaron Rodgers, Sam Darnold, Kirk Cousins, Daniel Jones — do not appear to interest the Steelers more than what they have with Fields.
He was not the same quarterback who won only 10 games in three seasons with the Bears. Fields completed nearly 66% percent of his passes, threw just one interception in 161 attempts and accounted for 10 touchdowns, including five rushing. Don’t forget, he ran for 1,143 yards and eight touchdowns with the Bears in 2022.
The Steelers have not made any determinations about re-signing any of their three quarterbacks — Fields, Russell Wilson or No. 3 Kyle Allen — all of whom are free agents.
“We are certainly open to considering those guys, but there’s a lot of work ahead of us,” Tomlin said at his year-end press conference. “The major work, obviously, starts first and foremost just understanding what our options are, what the field looks like in terms of free agency, what the draft pool looks like and then beginning the process in terms of decision-making based on known variables.”
Tomlin has always expressed his desire of having a mobile quarterback in today’s NFL.
They make the rest of the running game more effective because opposing defenses can’t ignore them and focus solely on the running back. Of the six teams with mobile quarterbacks over the weekend, each ran for at least 147 yards. Three teams — Baltimore (176), Washington (182) and Philadelphia (285) — had quarterbacks who combined to run 29 times for 160 yards.
Of course, having Saquon Barkley makes Hurts (seven carries for 70 yards) even more dangerous.
If the Steelers do settle on Fields, there is still a matter of who will be the backup.
They have always preferred having a No. 2 quarterback with extensive experience, players such as Charlie Batch, Byron Leftwich, Mitch Trubisky and even Fields himself. Allen is a good addition to the quarterback room, but he has started just four games the past five seasons and just 19 in his seven-year career.
The Steelers signed former Miami Dolphins quarterback Skylar Thompson to a reserve/futures contract last week. But that was more of a temporary safeguard because all three quarterbacks were without contract.
The best addition would be Jones, the former New York Giants quarterback. And would the Steelers consider another reunion with Mason Rudolph?
That’s all part of what the Steelers will decide before free agency begins March 12. But, after this past weekend, maybe the decision is beginning to come into better focus.