As things stand on July 10, Justin Fields’ potential future with the Pittsburgh Steelers ranges anywhere from eventual face of the franchise to one-year insurance policy.
After declining the acquired quarterback’s fifth-year option in May, the Steelers have essentially acknowledged that there’s no guarantee they keep Fields beyond the 2024 campaign. Despite that, some fans have called for a “bridge” contract that extends the former first-round talent for a couple of years, setting him up to take over for Russell Wilson — a likely one-year stopgap — once acclimated in Pittsburgh.
Unfortunately, that’s probably not happening according to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Ray Fittipaldo, who spoke on the subject with The Fan Morning Show on 93.7 FM radio.
“I don’t even know about a bridge deal,” Fittipaldo responded after confirming that he believes Wilson will be the starting quarterback come Week 1. “I’m just saying [Fields] wants [the Steelers] to say — okay, yea maybe there’s something here. He looks very comfortable throwing to the receivers, he commands the huddle well, he communicates well.”
“Honestly guys, you have to see him in games to believe in him,” the media insider added candidly — a harsh reality check for any hopeful supporters of Fields considering the 25-year-old may not see much playing time if Wilson performs.
Having said that, Fittipaldo didn’t rule out some sort of pre-market extension in early 2025.
“Bridge deal? Maybe. I’m not really big on that [occurring],” he said. “But certainly, if he does play well [during training camp and the preseason], I think there will be an opportunity in those six-to-eight weeks from January to March where they could potentially do a deal next year.”
A sliver of hope for Fields truthers, perhaps, but it’s also possible the young signal-caller elects to test his market if the Steelers make him wait.
Justin Fields Could Get Looks With Steelers’ First-Team Offense During Training Camp ‘Rest’ Days
Per Fittipaldo, Fields’ best chance to show his stuff might come during scheduled “rest” days this summer.
“I think they want to find out as much about Justin as they can from July 24th until opening day,” the reporter noted. “And we didn’t really see this in OTAs. Russell really wanted to be out there every day. He didn’t miss any practices.”
“But a lot of times, what you’ll see with the Steelers — and they did this with Ben [Roethlisberger], they’ll do this with veterans at other positions — they’ll purposely rest guys every third or fourth day just to give them a rest,” Fittipaldo went on. “And on those days, those are gonna be huge opportunities for Justin Fields to go out there with the ones, and to show what he can do.”
That may not extend to the preseason though, according to the media insider, as the Steelers look to get Wilson and his first-team playmakers on the same page.
Russell Wilson’s Durability Works Against Justin Fields in Steelers QB Battle
Wilson has been one of the more durable quarterbacks in the NFL throughout his 12-year career. He didn’t miss a single start from his rookie season in 2012 all the way through 2020, before missing three starts with the Seattle Seahawks in 2021.
Wilson did miss two games in each of his campaigns with the Denver Broncos, although the latter two were by the choice of the organization — safeguarding themselves against an injury clause in his contract.
The point is, Wilson doesn’t generally sit out. And that’s bad news for a QB who’s trying to prove himself in live game situations.
Granted, Fields could outplay Wilson by such a wide margin that head coach Mike Tomlin is forced to reconsider his position, but that feels unlikely based on early reports from OTAs and minicamp.
The only other way Fields takes control of the offense — outside of an injury or a preseason overtake — is a benching due to poor play from Wilson, and no Steelers fan is rooting for that after the quarterback struggles in 2023.
