The Steelers have a completely new quarterback room than last year after a flurry of activity.
It appears the Cincinnati Bengals will see a few new faces at quarterback fielded by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Steelers have traded a conditional sixth-round pick that gets elevated to a fourth-round pick based on playtime to the Chicago Bears for quarterback Justin Fields. Safe to say that was another major steal for an AFC North team at the expense of the Bears.
This move comes just a day after Pittsburgh sent former first round quarterback Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles for a 2025 seventh-round selection and to move up from 120 to pick No. 98. That was caused by the Steelers going out and signing Russell Wilson after the Denver Broncos opted to cut him and eat a $53 million cap hit for him to not be in Denver next year.
The Bears traded up in the 2021 NFL Draft by sending their first round pick and fifth-round selection that season and an additional first round pick the next to the New York Giants. Fields has a 10-28 record the past two seasons. He posted career highs in most of his passing stats, aside from his 16 touchdowns being one behind his 2022 total of 17. His rushing stats took an incredible dip after having over 1,000 rushing yards in 2022 to only 657 in just two fewer games.
Fields’ potential may not have been tapped, as he has played for some awful teams during his time with the Bears. The team was just able to get him a weapon in DJ Moore last season, but prior to that, there really wasn’t a player who would be any sort of mismatch to the defense. A lot was put on his shoulders early and often, as their offensive line also had major issues.
It is still astounding that the Bears only got this from the Steelers. You’d think they would have learned not to deal with Pittsburgh after they fleeced Chicago for a second-round pick to send Chase Claypool over in the middle of the 2022 season. He was actively holding the team back to the point that he never played a full season with the team.
Right now, it appears that Pittsburgh is set to start Wilson next season, but they haven’t seen either of these guys in their offense yet. At the very least, the Steelers have a younger backup plan to have behind Wilson. If he doesn’t pan out, they can hope that Fields has some untapped potential.
It seems clear the Steelers decided to completely overhaul their quarterback room rather than remain in quarterback purgatory despite making the NFL Playoffs last season. We will have to see how a change of scenery works for Fields and Wilson next season.
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