Latest Steelers rumor could force Mike Tomlin to trade Justin Fields soon

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a pretty good thing going at the quarterback position through half the season, which is a stark difference from 2023. Pittsburgh's offense featured Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph just a year ago. Through eight games in 2024, Justin Fields and Russell Wilson have proven to be a dramatically better fit with new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.

Fields started the first six games of the season, going 4-2 and bringing a dual-threat element to the Steelers offense. While Fields has plenty of flaws throwing the ball downfield, most fans were surprised when he was replaced by Russell Wilson in Week 7, primarily because Pittsburgh isn't accustomed to good QB play. Wilson provided just that, and in his two weeks as starter has looked every bit of the downfield passer the Steelers need in Smith's system.

Entering their Week 9 bye, the question isn't what the Steelers will do at quarterback, but rather how they'll provide Wilson with added weapons. Beyond George Pickens, the Steelers are lacking at wide receiver. Van Jefferson and Calvin Austin are nice stories, but they will not win postseason games.

Will the Steelers pick Russell Wilson or Justin Fields as their long-term QB?

Surprisingly enough, another bye week storyline emerged, this time involving Fields and Wilson. While the two are coexisting in the moment, Pittsburgh has a tough decision looming in just a few months.

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Steelers are unlikely to keep both players beyond this season, as Wilson and Fields played well enough to receive large contracts in free agency. Omar Khan will rightly not pay them both, and Schefter thinks even Fields could earn $30 million+ per season. Yikes.

While I see some obvious flaws in Schefter's reporting – mainly that Fields won't be a hot topic on the minds of NFL executives come next offseason, especially if he doesn't play the rest of the season – I do understand his point. It's a pipe dream among the Steelers fanbase that they'll be able to keep both players long term.

Pittsburgh should (obviously) prefer Wilson if he leads the Steelers to the playoffs and performs well there. The Steelers are tired of losing playoff games, and Wilson (at his best) is the kind of signal-caller who can win a game or two in the postseason.

It would be a risk, but if Khan and Tomlin are already resolved to this line of thought, they should take what they can get for Fields while his value is high. There are plenty of QB-needy teams, and while the Steelers would prefer to keep Fields on the roster in case of a Wilson injury, he is second in line to Russ, even beyond this season.

The Steelers can afford Wilson on a high-AAV, short-term deal since he is 35 years old. He doesn't have many years left, but he does offer some semblance of stability Pittsburgh hasn't had in awhile. More importantly, Wilson is also the better player.