In the span of eight days in March, the Pittsburgh Steelers completely changed their quarterback room. After the Denver Broncos gave QB Russell Wilson permission to meet with teams prior to his release, he visited the Steelers and agreed to a new contract. That set off a series of events that saw QB Kenny Pickett traded to the Philadelphia Eagles and then the Steelers acquiring Justin Fields from the Chicago Bears.
To say a lot happened in one week is an understatement. While the results remain to be seen, few people would say the Steelers haven’t improved at the most important position in football. But if the Steelers had known what Fields’ price was earlier, could it have changed how things happened in March?
“I think if you had given the truth serum to the Steelers, they would never admit it nor should they,” KeynoteUSA’s Mike Greenberg said on Thursday’s episode of Get Up. “But if they had known at the time that they were going to be able to “To get Justin Fields for the price they got him for, I don’t think they would have signed Russell in the first place.”
Greenberg believes the Steelers signed Wilson because the Bears’ asking price was still too high, so they moved to Plan B. Then the asking price changed.
“I think it was at a time when Justin Fields’ asking price was this and the Steelers decided we weren’t going to meet that price,” Greenberg said as he raised his hand above his head before dropping it to his side. “If they had known it would eventually turn out to be this, I think they would have (traded) him and given him every opportunity to be their starter.”
How different would things have been if the Steelers and Bears had been able to come to an agreement on the same trade just a week or two earlier? Would Wilson still have visited Pittsburgh and signed as a free agent?
Could the Steelers be on the verge of a potential quarterback controversy?
Maybe not. The old football saying is that if you have two quarterbacks, you have none. That’s what former Steelers front office executive Doug Whaley thought when he said last Wednesday that the Steelers don’t really have a quarterback and are just hoping one or both of them develop into a quality starting option.
So if the Steelers had traded for Fields sooner, maybe they wouldn’t have reached out to Wilson. Maybe they would have simply invested his time and energy into giving Fields a platform to succeed.
However, there is also the matter of Pickett. Would Pickett have reacted as negatively to a Fields trade as he would a Wilson signing? Maybe he would have held out in Pittsburgh. So would the Steelers still have had a controversy, just with Fields and Pickett instead of Wilson and Fields?
It’s all speculation at this point. We know head coach Mike Tomlin is a big fan of Justin Fields and that means a lot for a former first-round quarterback looking to restart his career.
And we know that once the Steelers head to St Vincent College, Wilson will be in pole position at training camp. It remains to be seen if he will be the starter in Week 1 or for the entire 2024 season.
Keynote USA
For the Latest Sports News, Follow Keynote USA Sports on Twitter.