The Pittsburgh Steelers showed strong interest in Justin Fields after the 2024 season and made a competitive push to keep him. Still, his desire for a full-season starting opportunity ultimately led him to the New York Jets. After that stint unraveled, Fields could find himself back on the low-cost backup market—raising the question of whether Pittsburgh might consider a reunion this offseason.
Whether or not they have an interest in bringing him back would first and foremost depend on whether or not Aaron Rodgers retires. If he stays, chances are pretty good they will run it back with the exact same QB room they have now. If not, their 2022 strategy could inform how they will approach 2026.
Before drafting Kenny Pickett in the first round, the Steelers brought in Mitch Trubisky as a veteran option to create a buffer for the rookie. They could reasonably go down that route again with a quarterback they already have a history with.
Arthur Smith didn’t hide the fact that he really liked working with Fields. He never outright said it, but it almost seemed like he would have preferred to roll with Fields rather than switch to Wilson in 2024. As long as Smith doesn’t get a head coaching opportunity, he should be back in 2026 and could push to bring back Fields on the cheap.
He completed 128 of his 204 attempts for 1,259 yards, seven TDs and one INT. He also had 71 rushing attempts for 383 yards, four TDs, and four fumbles. It obviously wasn’t a great season in New York, but now he won’t be looking for a starting opportunity. He will have to go the backup route and hope that he gets another starting chance to prove himself. The best place to do that might be Pittsburgh.
The likelihood of Pittsburgh drafting a quarterback early keeps plummeting the further they drop in the pick order. Could they opt to build the roster elsewhere and kick the can down the road at QB for another year when 2027 is expected to have a historic QB class? Even if they don’t, the chances of a first-round QB are slim with very few consensus top prospects in the 2026 class.
Is this the best option? Probably not. Fields went 2-7 with the New York Jets and has a career record of 12-35, excluding his 4-2 record with the Steelers. But even Aaron Rodgers struggled to win games with basically the same Jets team that Fields had to work with this season.
Maybe they bring in Justin Fields to compete with Mason Rudolph and Will Howard. I understand this probably won’t be a popular idea, but hear me out.
He would have a much better offense to work with than when he was in Pittsburgh a year ago. Don’t discount the fact that they wanted to bring him back, and Arthur Smith likes working with him. I doubt their opinion of him changed much because of the trainwreck that is the Jets. And keep in mind his best game of the year came against the Steelers in Week 1 when he looked ready for a breakout season.