The Steelers signing a QB before free agency doesn’t make sense for the player
The Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves in a familiar spot heading into the new league year. Time to rebuild the quarterback room again.
Since Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement, this will be the second season the Steelers will be having to completely fill the proverbial cupboard at the quarterback position. It’s not an ideal situation, but as Omar Khan said when he met with media Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine, the organization knew what they were getting themselves into this offseason.
“We went into this understanding that we had three quarterbacks in the last year of their deal, and here we are,” Khan said. “Until we get one of those guys, or two of those guys, or some combination of them signed, all options are on the table. We have had conversations with both Russ’ people and Justin’s representatives, and we’ll see where that goes.”
Having “talks” essentially just means they have had some discussions about expectations for both of the quarterbacks who were on the roster in 2024. As Khan would continue, the goal is to vet these players first, before looking into the free agent or NFL Draft crop of quarterbacks.
“We would like to sign one of the guys that we had last year, but the reality is, they’re both free agents,” Khan said. “So until we get one of those guys under contract, you know, all options are on the table.”
As you’d expect, Khan said the team would love to get one of the quarterbacks who played in Pittsburgh last season under contract before the start of the new league year March 12th.
“It’s an ideal scenario you’d like to have this done before, before the start of the league year,” Khan said.
For the organization, and the fan base, that makes a lot of sense. Signing your own free agents are the only moves which can be made until the legal tampering period begins on March 10th, but the question I keep asking myself in this scenario is simple.
Why would either quarterback sign before hitting the open market?
While it makes a ton of sense for the Steelers, it doesn’t make much sense at all for either quarterback to isolate their negotiations with just one team. With that said, if there is a quarterback who chooses to not hit the open market and sign with the Steelers, then that speaks volumes about how they feel about the deal, and the Steelers organization.
Unfortunately for the Steelers and the fan base, I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Justin Fields has never been a free agent, and if his agent is worth his salary he’d be telling his client to wait and get the best deal possible. After all, who knows if this is the last time he will hit free agency in his career. In my opinion, if the Steelers are going to sign one of the two quarterbacks who wore black-and-gold last season, they’ll have to do so by out-bidding the rest of the league when the new league year begins.
What might be even crazier to consider is how the Steelers, mainly Khan, have been very open about how getting the quarterback situation settled is paramount. We heard this from Art Rooney II during his media availability last month, and Khan echoed that sentiment at the Combine. In fact, he expounded on it suggesting the type of quarterback the Steelers sign could also dictate the type of receiver they sign in free agency.
“Obviously, that impacts who you sign, impacts the type of receiver you may go after or how you build the rest of the team. So all that has an effect.”
In other words, the quarterback has to be the first domino to fall before the team can truly hit the ground running in free agency. It also means the team will have to be aggressive in getting their next quarterback so they can start tackling other positions of need. Ultimately, Khan understands the importance of finding a quarterback who will be under contract for more than just one season to prevent the team from this ongoing cycle of having to fill the entire quarterback depth chart.
“You don’t want to go with three new quarterbacks every season,” Khan conceded. “That’s not ideal, but that’s just really where we’re at right now. You know, since Ben (Roethlisberger) retired a couple years ago, he was our franchise guy for a lot of years. And until we have that right person there, it’s hopefully not like that. But we’re going have to have to have some flexibility.”
Fans love to suggest the Steelers should just sign Justin Fields and move on with him. In theory that makes the most sense in a lot of ways, but thinking of it from the player’s perspective and you might see things differently. In other words, unless the Steelers offer Fields a deal with the years, guaranteed money, and total money he, and his agent, find won’t be beat in free agency, the Steelers are going to have to outbid other teams. As you can see, a lot is riding on this singular move of signing a quarterback, and what the Steelers end up doing will be must-watch TV.
Be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the Combine and the new league year. Also, check out my Wednesday “Let’s Ride” podcast in the player below:
I know Fields has said he wants to stay, but it still doesn’t seem like it’s smart to not hear other offers before taking a deal
if you’re Fields. I do think they’ll still be able to bring him back. I wonder if it will even take beyond the legal tampering period. I’d think so, but just want to know if he’s a Steeler or not
I think your premise is correct. There is no benefit to not exploring free agency for the player. I could see Wilson signing for a couple of reasons. He has made a ton of money in the league already. When you add in Ciara’s net worth money really isn’t going to drive his decision. I think with Wilson it is going to more about where and for whom he plays.
Fields is the exact opposite. While he is certainly no pauper, he is looking at his first non-rookie deal. This is his chance to get paid and also be a starter again wherever he selects to go.
Ideal situation for the Steelers would likely be Wilson at 2-year $60M and Fields for 3-year $75M. You start Wilson in 2025 and have him back up in 2026 with the idea that Fields becomes the full-time starter in 2026 and 2027. So, at that point you are still only on the hook for $135M for your QB room. That still gives you a starter for the next three years still under $60M per year.
Or you just sign whoever will sign and draft and hope you hit in the next couple of drafts.
Let me offer a contradictory thought here. While I see the reasoning behind free agents not wanting to sign anywhere prior to free agency, I think that there is some counter-reasoning that would make sense. This can apply to any position but we’ll keep it with the
Somehow, I posted a snippet prior to finalizing my post. Obviously, disregard this one.
Let me offer a contradictory thought here. While I see the reasoning behind free agents not wanting to sign anywhere prior to free agency, I think that there is some counter-reasoning that would make sense as well. This can apply to any position but we’ll keep it with the QBs.
As of right now, the Steelers have no viable starting caliber QBs on the roster. It’s safe to assume that all free agent QBs know this and that the Steelers would be an attractive team to sign with. Heck, they finished 10-7, made the playoffs last year and are in dire need of a starting QB. That’s about as attractive as things can get for “less than franchise” QBs that annually make up the set of free agents.
I can see logic in a Justin Fields leveraging his knowledge and relationships within the Steelers organization to “remove” the Steelers’ starting QB job from consideration when free agency starts. IE, when free agency starts, the Steelers job is no longer desirable as they already have a starting caliber QB on the roster.
Put another way, if Justin Fields doesn’t sign early with the Steelers and, once free agency starts, the Steelers show interest in Kick Cousins, that could find Justin Fields scrambling (pun intended) to find a team with a better starting opportunity.
I haven’t even mentioned Justin Fields’ already being here for a year and knowing the system (which won’t be changing next year). A different team would have him starting from scratch.
Something to think about is all. If Justin Fields, and his agent, think that the Steelers are offering a fair deal, it may well be wise for him to take it rather than waiting.