If you listened to Omar Khan at the NFL Combine last week, you clearly heard that not only do the Pittsburgh Steelers want to return one of their starters from 2024, but it’s their first order of business.
And with trades, releases, and franchise tags flying days before free agency even begins, the sooner the Steelers sign a QB, the sooner they can begin the rest of their free-agent process.
And according to Adam Schefter of ESPN, that decision is coming in a matter of days, if not less…
Steelers expected to make a QB signing this week
“It’s tough to go into free agency to go add to your offense when you have no idea who’s playing quarterback,” Schefter said on the Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday. “And that’s why I think they’re [Pittsburgh Steelers] gonna spend this week working on getting a deal done with either Justin Fields or Russell Wilson. I would imagine Justin Fields is first up in the pecking order. We’ll see if they can get something worked out there. If not, it’s easy to pivot onto Russell Wilson and we’ll see how this works out…
“…But I would think Pittsburgh is determined to try to get one of these quarterback deals done in the coming days so that it has some clarity going into free agency.”
The news shouldn’t come as a surprise, but it’s still the first we have heard of an actual deadline being put on the biggest decision of the Steelers offseason. There could be some hold-up because while Fields is the Steelers’ top choice, he may want to test the market first.
Meaning, if Fields decides to drag his feet as Monday’s legal tampering period gets closer, the Steelers may move to option B, signing Russell Wilson and running back what Steelers fans hope will be a different product than what they saw at the end of their 2024 season.
And if on the off chance that we get through the weekend and there is no decision made, then look for option C, which is an external candidate to be leading the Steelers’ offense in 2025.