This is the fifth in a series examining the Pittsburgh Steelers roster, position by position, heading into the offseason.
Today: Quarterbacks
As Pittsburgh Steelers fans discovered last year, predicting the team’s starting quarterback in January is an exercise in futility.
Twelve months ago, Kenny Pickett appeared to be poised to recapture the starting job he had lost to injury. Mitch Trubisky was still under contract as a backup, and Mason Rudolph was coming off four starts to finish the season.
By mid-March, all three were gone from the organization. Pickett was traded, Trubisky released and Rudolph left via free agency when the Steelers opted for the Russell Wilson-Justin Fields tandem for the 2024 season.
This offseason, Wilson and Fields are the ones heading into free agency — as is No. 3 passer Kyle Allen — which leaves the Steelers with a decision on which quarterback to pursue.
Coach Mike Tomlin wasn’t ready to commit to anyone when he held his season-ending news conference Jan. 14.
“We are certainly open to considering those guys, but there is a lot of work ahead of us,” Tomlin said. “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 begin the process in terms of decision-making based on known variables.”
Wilson told “The Pat McAfee Show” earlier this week that the Steelers already have conducted preliminary discussions on a new contract. There is sentiment, however, that the Steelers might elect to go with Fields, who is a decade younger and more athletic than Wilson.
Fields started the first six games, staking the Steelers to a 4-2 record, before Wilson took over and started the final 12 games, including postseason.
Tomlin was asked what steps Fields needs to take to be a 17-game starter for the Steelers.
“I think he took them,” Tomlin said. “I thought the way that he managed his professional circumstances was really impressive. I thought he brought an urgency in his day-to-day work regardless of his role. I thought he got continually better within our system of ball throughout the process. I thought the way he conducted himself makes that a legitimate thought or idea at this juncture.”
Although the offense struggled to score points down the stretch, Wilson and Fields at least brought a measure of consistency to the position that was lacking the previous two seasons. Consider that Steelers quarterbacks accounted for 21 touchdown passes, which was only four fewer than the team totaled over the 2022-23 seasons combined.
On the other hand, the Steelers continue to rank near the bottom of the NFL in passing yardage. The Steelers were No. 27 with 192 yards per game. The Steelers haven’t ranked higher than No. 24 in any season since Roethlisberger’s retirement.
If Fields doesn’t return as the starter, the Steelers will have a new quarterback to open the season for the fifth year in a row, following Pickett (2023), Trubisky (2022) and Ben Roethlisberger (2021).
Tomlin, his staff and the team’s scouts and personnel evaluators will turn their focus to the next wave of quarterbacks next week at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. Seven quarterbacks have accepted invitations to the showcase all-star game: Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard, Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel, Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, Mississippi’s Jaxson Dart, Ohio State’s Will Howard, Louisville’s Tyler Shough and Memphis’ Seth Henigan. Texas’ Quinn Ewers was scheduled to attend, but he withdrew because of an injury he suffered in the college playoffs.
Under contract: Skylar Thompson ($1.1 million cap hit)
Impending free agents: Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, Kyle Allen
Outside perspective: ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, on the Steelers’ future quarterback: “People around the league are torn about what the Steelers should or will do at quarterback. The Russell Wilson experiment was not a failure — he showed promise and gave the offense a lift midseason. But he was signed to help the Steelers in the playoffs, where Pittsburgh lost in the first round again. Some executives believe the Steelers could bring back Wilson. But (Justin) Fields is 25 — 11 years younger — and has an explosive skill set around which the team could build … at least for one more year.”