Steelers Might be Left as Default Front-Runner for Justin Fields

The Justin Fields saga feels like it is coming to an end soon. Chicago wants to move him before free agency to do right by him, but the market is soft. Pittsburgh is in on Fields, which makes sense, but the Falcons, another team with a vested interest in him, might not want him as their first option.

Instead, Atlanta seems all-in on signing Kirk Cousins first. Dan Graziano of ESPN stated that Cousins is Atlanta’s top option while Fields is the backup option for the young quarterback.

“Should that happen, I expect the Falcons to make a strong pursuit. I have been told by multiple sources this week that signing Cousins — not trading for Justin Fields — is the Falcons’ top QB solution, assuming Cousins makes it to free agency,” Graziano said.

Asked specifically at the Combine about potentially trading for Fields, Steelers general manager Omar Khan said that he would not get into specifics about the conversations he’s had around the league.

“I’m not gonna go into details about the conversations that we’ve had,” he said. “But like I mentioned earlier, I can tell you that I have an obligation to look at every avenue that’s out there to make us a better football team.”

Khan said that he has full faith in Kenny Pickett as the Steelers’ starting quarterback, but stressed the fact that competition will be a part of the process.

“I have full faith in Kenny,” Khan said. “He’s shown us some good things. Obviously, there were some issues with the offense and I’m excited about the impact that Arthur Smith is going to have on him. Arthur is very optimistic about Kenny. I know they’ve communicated. We’ll have some strong competition there and we’ll see how it goes. …

“Regardless of what position, not just the quarterback position, you guys have heard me talk about this last year when I first got this job, competition is important to me. And that’s no different to the quarterback position. Competition makes us all better. That’s regardless of position. That’s just in life.”

Fields took a small step forward in 2023, his third year as Chicago’s starting quarterback. The 24-year-old Ohio State alum threw 370 times, completing 227 for 2,562 yards and 16 touchdowns. He threw nine interceptions and maintained an 86.3 passer rating and a 5.29 adjusted net yards per attempt.

Last season, he was 192 of 318 for 2,242 yards, 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, an 85.2 quarterback rating and 4.63 adjusted net yards per attempt.

Fields is entering the final year of his rookie contract and the Bears — or another team, if he’s traded — must decide this offseason if they want to pick up the fifth-year option on his contract. That would be a guaranteed $25 million contract for 2025. The Bears or another club could also attempt to negotiate a traditional contract extension