Steelers Interested in Another Notable QB After Kenny Pickett Trade
Justin Fields is being considered by the Pittsburgh Steelers following the trade of Kenny Pickett.
The Pittsburgh Steelers desperately needed better quarterback performance going into the 2024 summer.
They were therefore connected to almost every prominent quarterback that was anticipated to be available this summer.
They did manage to sign Russell Wilson to a one-year contract last weekend, making him one of those quarterbacks.
They made an even more unexpected move at the position after signing Wilson. Kenny Pickett was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles.
The club now has to find a replacement for Pickett on the roster to support Wilson.
They could prefer that the quarterback be one of the other well-known players they’ve been associated with this offseason.
According to sources cited by Steelers Now’s Nick Farabaugh, the team is seriously considering pursuing a trade for Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields.
The Steelers’ Shifting QB Situation
This offseason, things in the quarterback room of the Steelers have swiftly shifted.
Mitch Trubisky, the third-string quarterback for the club, was among the initial cuts made.
The assumption had grown that Pickett would start and that they would just add a veteran as preseason competition, so it appeared that the team wouldn’t be making many more significant transactions at the position this summer.
When Wilson became accessible officially, that immediately changed.
He was swiftly signed by the Steelers to be their starting quarterback in 2024.
It seems to have resolved the issue in their QB room.
In 2024, Wilson would start at quarterback. It would take Pickett a year to mature off the bench, and the team would reevaluate their quarterback position after that year.
As it happens, it wasn’t that easy.
The franchise is now without any of its top three quarterbacks from the 2023 campaign after dealing Pickett.
They are in a better position now than they were at the beginning of the offseason thanks to the additions.
The Steelers have thrown 25 touchdown passes as a unit over the last two seasons. In 2023, Wilson threw 26.
Though there are many fewer choices available than there were a week ago, the team is currently in a situation where they still need to locate a backup quarterback.
They may then attempt to be the side that takes advantage of what appears to be a poor trade market for Fields.
Justin Fields’ Trade Market
Fields has been considered a trade candidate ever since the Bears were declared the winners of this year’s draft.
In order to get Fields, a top receiver, and enhance the protection in front of him, the team already gave up the first selection in the previous season.
Seven victories were awarded to them.
They find themselves in a similar predicament once more in 2024, and it doesn’t appear probable that they will pass on the first selection in order to retain Fields as their starter.
The squad does not have many choices for trading partners, though.
The majority of the league’s teams in need of a quarterback have already found one.
Wilson is in Pittsburgh right now. Kirk Cousins was signed by the Falcons. Gardner Minshew was signed by the Raiders. Sam Darnold even made it to the Vikings.
nearly all of the other teams with a vacancy are going to fill it in the draft.
Although Fields isn’t a better fit with Sean Payton than Wilson was, the Broncos are still in the running.
Fields’ value is severely limited by the Bears’ current situation, which may need them to find a trade partner who wants him as a backup. This is especially true given that this is Fields’ final rookie season.
Any club that could be interested in that would be taking a risk, but the Steelers might be the ones to take it on as a possible insurance policy at the position.