Steelers Fans Finally Get A Sneak-Peek Behind What Really Happened Between Justin Fields And Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Steelers had a lot of fans excited about the quarterback situation during the 2024 season. The organization had a proven-winner in Russell Wilson, and it also had a young athletic quarterback in Justin Fields. Fields seemed like he had a good chance to be the future of the franchise, but that didn't end up coming to fruition as he left in free agency to join the New York Jets during the 2025 offseason. Pittsburgh made an effort to keep Fields around, but he wound up signing somewhere that was willing to guarantee him the starting job, while also paying him more money.

Many fans wanted the organization to re-sign Fields and move forward with him as the quarterback in Pittsburgh. Fields signing in New York was likely a product of him getting benched in favor of Wilson, as well as the Steelers not being willing to pay him the $40 million over two years that the Jets were. NFL insider Adam Schefter was asked about the entire situation during an appearance on 97.1 The Fan, and he shared some details from behind the scenes.

"They could not get a deal done," Schefter explained. "Either because they were only willing to go to a certain price, or because he felt like, 'Here's a team that benched me. Why do I wanna go back to a team that benched me?' Maybe if they'd been more aggressive from the jump when the season ended, maybe the chance of that might have been better, I don't know. That's a Justin Fields question."

It didn't seem like the Steelers were entirely committed to Fields being the organization's quarterback, and that is probably part of what drove him to sign with the Jets, rather than the Steelers. He had already been benched during the 2024 season in favor of Wilson, although Fields was playing the best football of his career and the team was winning games.

Pittsburgh's lack of commitment to Fields almost certainly drove him away, but it also probably means that the organization was offering less than the Jets. Many believe that the Jets overpaid on the contract for Fields, and Pittsburgh wasn't going to do that in order to get him to re-sign. He is a talented player with intriguing capabilities, but he has not necessarily proved himself in the NFL yet. He struggled during his first couple of seasons as a pro, and he hasn't quite broken out just yet. 

Steelers Were Pursuing Justin Fields And Rams' Matthew Stafford At The Same Time

The Steelers were also interested in other quarterbacks outside of Fields. He was also probably thinking about the organization drafting a quarterback, and he didn't want to have to worry about losing his job to a rookie in 2025. New York could offer him job security, which is something the Steelers just would not commit to. During the 2025 offseason, while the Steelers were trying to re-sign Fields, the team was in discussions about a potential trade with Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford as well.

Stafford wanted a new deal, and the Rams wanted to move forward at the position. The veteran wound up re-working his deal in LA, but him getting traded was a real possibility according to Schefter.

"It was really as much chronological as it was anything else," Schefter said. "They started in the offseason and the initial calls were about acquiring Matthew Stafford and they had conversations with the Rams about trading for him. And once it didn't get done, they continued during that time talking with Justin Fields. Obviously stepped up effort to get a deal done with Fields."

It seems like Pittsburgh prioritized landing Stafford over re-signing Fields, which also almost certainly played a role in him signing with the Jets. The Steelers have been reported to have wanted Fields back, but nothing they did throughout the 2025 offseason seems to support that the desire was extremely high.

What do you think about Schefter's remarks? Let us know in the comments below!

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