Following a season where the Pittsburgh Steelers made the playoffs despite having one of the league’s worst offenses, which was plagued by subpar quarterback play, it was no surprise they decided to make changes this offseason.
The Steelers signed Russell Wilson in free agency before trading former first-round pick Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles. Which was followed by Pittsburgh’s trade for another former Day 1 pick, Justin Fields.
However, had things played out differently and the Steelers instead landed Fields in a trade earlier, ESPN’s Mike Greenberg believes that they might’ve never signed Wilson.
“I believe that if you gave the Steelers truth serum, they’ll never admit this nor should they,” Greenberg said. “But if they had known at the time that they were going to be able to get Justin Fields for the price that they got him for, I don’t think they would have signed Russell in the first place.”
A hot take? Maybe, considering Wilson is in “pole position” to be the Steelers’ starting quarterback. But if you listen to what Greenberg says next, it makes more sense.
“I think that was at a moment in time when the asking price on Justin Fields was this and the Steelers decided, ‘We’re not meeting that price,'” Greenberg said of the Steelers’ signing of Wilson. “If they had known that it would eventually get to be this, I think they would have [traded for Fields] and they would have given him every chance to be their starter.”
So Wilson wasn’t Plan A? Maybe, but we’d like to ask where Pickett would fit into this ordeal. Would the Steelers have planned to bring Fields in to compete with Pickett, or would they still end up moving on from the Pittsburgh product?
It is an intriguing “what if” scenario. If the Steelers landed Fields in the trade with the Chicagathlonsports.como Bears, which saw them exchange just a sixth-round pick a week earlier, would Wilson still sign with Pittsburgh?
Possibly not. However, that isn’t to say that the Steelers should be upset with how things turned out this offseason at quarterback. They essentially took two fliers, as both Wilson and Fields are on one-year deals, which means if things don’t work, they can move on without worrying about being tied down with dead money.
