Pittsburgh Steelers owner and president Art Rooney II said Monday that he expects either Russell Wilson or Justin Fields to return at quarterback next season. But not both.
Rooney addressed Pittsburgh’s quarterback situation and reiterated his support of head coach Mike Tomlin during his end-of-season news conference. He called bringing back one of Wilson or Fields a “priority.”
“I think they’re both capable quarterbacks, and my preference would be to sign one of them, so that’ll be the priority,” Rooney told reporters. “And I think that will give us the best opportunity to move forward.”
Wilson and Fields are both scheduled to become unrestricted free agents. Wilson played last season on a one-year, $1.2 million contract while still being paid by the Broncos on his previous $242 million deal. Fields played on the last year of his four-year, $18.9 million rookie contract that he signed with the Bears before joining the Steelers via trade last offseason.
Is either Wilson or Fields the answer for Pittsburgh?
Fields started the first six games of the season after Wilson suffered a calf injury in training camp and led the Steelers to a 4-2 start. Wilson took over in Week 7 and finished the season as Pittsburgh’s starter. The Steelers went 6-5 in regular-season games that Wilson started, which included four consecutive losses to end the season. The Steelers then lost in the wild-card round to the Ravens.
Both were starters in their prior stops before joining the Steelers, and Rooney doesn’t anticipate having both of them on the roster next season.
“I think both of them see themselves as starters, and I don’t know that they want to share the job again,” Rooney said. “So I would say most likely we don’t wind up bringing them both back.”
The return of either as Pittsburgh’s starting quarterback isn’t likely to satisfy a Steelers fanbase frustrated with the late-season collapse and hungry for the franchise’s first playoff win since 2017. Wilson is 36 and past his prime and didn’t demonstrate that he has the upside to elevate this Steelers roster into contention. And he beat out Fields for the starting job.
Do the Steelers have other options?
But the Steelers might not have much of a choice. They’re not likely to find a franchise quarterback with the No. 21 pick in the draft, and they certainly won’t find one in free agency. Pittsburgh tried and failed to find its quarterback in a similar draft position when it selected Kenny Pickett with the No. 20 pick in the 2022 draft. Pickett’s now a backup for the Eagles after two failed seasons as Pittsburgh’s starter.
Rooney called Pickett’s failure to retain the job in Pittsburgh “disappointing.”
“It’s disappointing that Kenny didn’t work out to be our long-term quarterback, and I’m not sure there’s a lot to be learned from that,” Rooney said. “We just have to look at the next opportunity.”
As for Tomlin, Rooney left little doubt about his feelings for the head coach, who’s under some pressure from the fanbase amid the eight-season drought without a playoff win.
“We still feel good about him being a good leader,” Rooney said of Tomlin. “When you got a good coach, you try to keep him in place. When I talk to the players, they still want to play for Mike.”
