Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, quarterbacks with the Pittsburgh Steelers, are both expected to become free agents when the new league year begins on March 12.
Some fans and local media personalities believe the Steelers should search for a quarterback upgrade this offseason, but team owner and president Art Rooney II stated on Monday that he intends to keep either Wilson or Fields in the club’s quarterback room for another season.
“I think they’re both capable quarterbacks, and my preference would be to sign one of them,” Rooney said of Wilson and Fields, per The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo. “That will be a top priority, and I believe it will provide us with the best opportunity to move forward. Obviously, we’ll check into the draft as well. We have an entire quarterback room to fill, thus there are available positions. I wouldn’t be surprised if we looked at the draft this year or next.”
According to Steelers Depot’s Jeremy Pike, Rooney’s comments came shortly after team insider Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette stated on the “Randy Baumann and the DVE Morning Show” program that he believed the Steelers could re-sign Wilson “maybe in the next two or so weeks” based on what Dulac had been “hearing.”.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin appeared to say a lot about his team’s quarterback issue this summer, claiming that he always planned to start a healthy Wilson over Fields. Tomlin then turned to Wilson in Week 7 of the 2024 season after the veteran recovered from a lingering calf injury, despite Fields’ 4-2 record as a starter, and Tomlin stuck with Wilson through a five-game losing streak, which was capped off by Pittsburgh’s 28-14 wild-card playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Tomlin reportedly remains a major Wilson fan, and Wilson stated last week that his “goal is to be with the Pittsburgh Steelers for a long time and hopefully finish my career there.” Meanwhile, Rooney offered Tomlin a public vote of confidence on Monday and stated that he would prefer for either Wilson or Fields to sign a multiyear contract to stay with the team.
“It sort of takes two to tango, and so we’ll see where it goes,” Rooney told the audience. “I believe my inclination would be to have something longer than a one-year (agreement) in place next time around. We’ll see where this takes us.
Unsurprisingly, Rooney stated that it is “unlikely” that both quarterbacks would return with the Steelers since “both of them see themselves as starters” and would not “want to share the same job again next year.” Unless Tomlin has changed his mind since the evening of January 11, history shows he puts more faith in Wilson than Fields when it comes to the 2025 Steelers trying to do more than just make the playoffs.