Russell Wilson no longer is the only quarterback on the Pittsburgh Steelers roster.
One day after the Steelers traded two-year starter Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Steelers found a replacement in Justin Fields. The Steelers traded a sixth-round draft pick in 2025 in exchange for the multi-dimensional Fields.
The pick becomes a fourth-rounder if Fields plays more than half of the offensive snaps in 2024, according to ESPN.
Fields, the No. 11 overall pick of the 2021 draft, was traded by the Bears so they could focus on using the No. 1 overall selection this year on former Southern Cal quarterback Caleb Williams, the top passer in this year’s draft class.
Fields started 38 games in three seasons with the Bears, yet he was just 10-28 as a starter.
Wilson, who was introduced at a news conference Friday after agreeing to a one-year contract, will enter the season as the projected starter and Fields serving as the backup. The Steelers could sign a third quarterback in free agency or take one on the third day of the NFL Draft for developmental purposes.
Fields went 5-8 in 2023, when he had 16 touchdown passes, nine interceptions and completed 61.4% of his throws. Fields also rushed for 657 yards. A year earlier, Fields had 1,143 yards rushing, and his dual-threat capability is something Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has sought in his quarterbacks for several seasons.
The Steelers haven’t had a quarterback with such versatility since Kordell Stewart.
Fields has 14 career rushing touchdowns, and his 86.3 passer rating was higher than Pickett’s 81.4. Fields also had a better rating in three seasons (82.3) than Pickett (78.8) did in his two years with the Steelers.
Fields will count $3.23 million against the salary cap this year. The Steelers must decide by May 2 whether to exercise his fifth-year option for 2025. Fields’ salary that season would be $25.664 million if the option is exercised.
The Steelers no longer have any of the three quarterbacks from 2023 remaining on the roster. Before Pickett was traded, Mason Rudolph signed a one-year deal with Tennessee, and Mitch Trubisky, after being released, signed with the Buffalo Bills.
In less than a week, general manager Omar Khan has made good on what he said last month at the NFL Combine by signing Wilson and swinging a pair of trades that altered the makeup of the quarterback room.
“I have an obligation to this organization, to the players, to the front office, to every member of Steelers Nation to look at every option and every way to improve this team, and we’re going to do so,” Khan said in late February.
Obtaining Fields was a low-risk move for the Steelers, who got a third-round pick from the Eagles for Pickett.
Khan acquired Fields without disturbing any of his 2024 NFL Draft capital. The Steelers hold the Nos. 20, 51, 84 and 98 picks over the first three rounds. They also have the No. 119 pick in the fourth round and Nos. 179 and 195 in the sixth.
Joe Rutter is a TribLive reporter who has covered the Pittsburgh Steelers since the 2016 season. A graduate of Greensburg Salem High School and Point Park, he is in his fifth decade covering sports for the Trib. He can be reached at jrutter@triblive.com.