Ex-NFL GM Thinks Steelers Trade for Justin Fields Was By Far Best Move of Offseason

Former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst Robert Griffin III thinks Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan pulled off an absolute heist in the Justin Fields trade with Chicago.

The Steelers acquired quarterback Fields from Chicago for a sixth-round pick in 2025 that could potentially turn into a fourth if Fields plays 51% of the snaps in 2024. Many thought Fields would go for at least a second or a third-round pick.

Griffin’s colleague at ESPN, former NFL general manager Mike Tannenbaum, thinks the Fields trade is the best move of the offseason.

“By far, to me, the best move of the NFL offseason is Justin Fields for a conditional pick. He’s 25 years old and he’s thrown 40 touchdowns. In a month, all these teams are gonna take a crapshoot on quarterbacks,” Tannebaum said on Get Up Friday. “This is a guy, look there’s some flaws. He has to clean up his sacks. I understand that.

“But, he has high character. He had absolutely nothing to work with. And to me, to get with Mike Tomlin and that defense, I think that is by far the best move in the NFL and I expect him to be there a long time and to beat out Russell Wilson this year, be their starting quarterback.”

The trade for Fields comes on the heels of Khan convincing Bears general manager Ryan Poles to give up a second-round pick for wide receiver Chase Claypool at the trade deadline in November of 2022. Claypool flamed out in Chicago and was traded to Miami in October.

The Steelers used the Claypool pick to select cornerback Joey Porter Jr, who had a great rookie year campaign. So basically, the Steelers traded Claypool and a sixth-round pick for Joey Porter Jr. and Justin Fields.

With Fields’ superb athleticism, he bring a different dimension to the Steelers’ quarterback room. Something that the Steelers haven’t had since Kordell Stewart was the quarterback over 20 years ago.

Since 2022, Fields has the most rushing yards by a quarterback with 1,800 yards, 6.3 yards per carry. Russell Wilson is expected to start, but Fields will still have to be accounted for if the Steelers implement a special package.

Dan Orlovsky of ESPN thinks the Wilson-Fields QB battle is going to come down to whoever fixes their fatal flaw, which is holding onto the ball too long and taking unnecessary sacks.

“Who’s going to take the less ridiculous sacks? In the last two seasons, Russell Wilson has taken 100 sacks. Justin Fields has taken 99. No other quarterback in the NFL has taken more than 80. So who could get that out of there game just a little bit? Justin, I would be more inclined because he’s younger,” Orlovsky said.

“And which one of these two guys gets rid of the negative plays? Negative plays are sacks, fumbles and interceptions. Here’s another one: Justin Fields in the last two seasons has 145 negative plays. Russell Wilson has 135. No other quarterback in the NFL has a buck 15 (115). So you’re intrigued, you’re encouraged, but which one of those guys gets rid of those fatal flaws of their game more constantly?”