Steelers' Russell Wilson-Justin Fields gamble comes with a hard truth

By design and perhaps by necessity, it's a shiny new look for the Pittsburgh Steelers QB room as offseason workouts and OTAs are underway ahead of the 2024 season. Out are the likes of Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph while in come veteran Russell Wilson and former first-round pick Justin Fields, both of whom were acquired by general manager Omar Khan this offseason.

All in all, most Steelers fans are excited for the sea change under center. Pickett was a disaster despite his draft position while Rudolph was fine but had a clearly defined and limited ceiling. So with new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith entering the fray, taking a cheap flier on a Super Bowl-winner in Wilson along with an ultra-talented young quarterback still on his rookie deal in Fields makes a ton of sense.

In a perfect world, this gamble by Pittsburgh will ultimately net the franchise its QB of the (near) future. Wilson or Fields -- whoever wins the training camp battle to become the starter -- could conceivably lead the Steelers to a playoff run and earn another contract. That's probably what fans are hoping will happen.

However, the cold truth of the matter is that's unlikely.

Could Steelers move on from Russell Wilson, Justin Fields after one year?

Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report recently examined five teams that should already be considered in the quarterback market for the 2025 offseason. And among those possible QB-needy teams was the Steelers. It's also hard to argue with Sobleski's reasoning for Pittsburgh's inclusion in this category. Discussing Wilson's decline after his move from Seattle to Denver and the unrealized potential of Fields in Chicago, he landed on this conclusion:

"Here's the thing: Neither of the team's new signal-callers is under contract beyond this season. Wilson signed a one-year, veteran-minimum deal, while Pittsburgh didn't pick up Fields' fifth-year rookie option.

"As of now, the Steelers don't have a long-term solution at quarterback. Most would even argue their current options aren't all that good, though better than last year's offerings."

That's where the hard truth comes into the equation. Two things are plain for this iteration of the Steelers quarterback room: Wilson and Fields are obvious upgrades over Pickett and Rudolph, but what we've seen in recent years doesn't suggest that either player is a viable long-term option for Pittsburgh's offense. In fact, you could argue it would be a direct and stark 180 from where both players have been for them to become that type of player.

Again, this isn't guaranteeing that Wilson and/or Fields will fail as the Steelers quarterback or even that the team itself will fail. Hell, this club still kept Mike Tomlin's above-.500 streak alive with their abysmal play at the position a year ago. At the same time, though, hopes that the franchise quarterback is now on the roster should be tempered pretty substantially. Nothing about what this duo will bring is a guarantee, good or bad, and that undeniably makes the future at the position both murky and uncertain.