Steelers first QB move of young offseason is beyond baffling in Russ-Fields landscape

It doesn’t make much sense what the Pittsburgh Steelers are doing in the early days of their premature free agency to address the quarterback position. They are clearly frustrated with Russell Wilson and his inability to deliver a win in the last month of the season, but their first offseason move addressing the quarterback position isn't the one fans are waiting for.

According to Ari Meirov, the Steelers are signing former Dolphins quarterback Skylar Thompson, most likely for depth purposes. 

So Pittsburgh signing a backup that isn’t really worth a roster spot is puzzling. It further adds to the confusion of what they’re going to do with Wilson and Justin Fields. Bringing in Thompson feels like they’re preparing to have one of Fields or Wilson. The question of which gets to come back still lingers.

Russell Wilson or Justin Fields: What will the Steelers do after signing Skylar Thompson?

The Steelers have an important decision to make when it comes to their quarterback. It’s not likely they will bring back both Fields and Wilson again — right now, Wilson seems like the obvious choice despite not really proving it on his "prove it" deal this season.

Yes, he led the Steelers to the playoffs, but they didn’t win when they got there. And while that was less on Wilson and probably more on offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, Wilson is ultimately the fall guy. 

It's less about not winning a playoff game and more about how the team looked to end the season — which wasn't great. Wilson struggling down the stretch will probably be the reason he doesn’t return next year, leaving the space for Fields.

Fields started the season as Wilson was nursing an injury. During the first six games of the season, Fields went 4-2, throwing for 1,065 yards, five touchdowns and an interception.

He wasn’t benched for how he was playing. Rather, Fields was actually benched because the Steelers always looked at Wilson as their starting quarterback. They did tease Fields in a set of plays throughout the season, but Russ was likely always going to be the starter.

The Steelers should look to Fields as their starter for next year for the same reason they traded for him. They can get him on a cheap deal and see what he looks like as the full-time starter. 

Pittsburgh is still in the "bridge quarterback" phase. They’re good enough that they don’t have to take a gamble on a rookie, but also haven’t found the guy they want to give a long-term contract. 

With Fields, they can have a player good enough to win them some games and get back to the playoffs — and he just might be the quarterback of their future, something you can't say about Wilson in 2025. 

But there’s one thing for certain; signing Thompson didn’t get them any closer to finding who their next quarterback is. It simply proved only one of Fields or Wilson will be back in 2025.