In just two days, the NFL’s legal tampering window opens, allowing pending free agents to begin communicating with other teams, determining their market and — in some instances — work out the parameters of a contract.
The Pittsburgh Steelers seemingly don’t want to let quarterback Justin Fields get to that point, but based on reporting from The Athletic’s Dianna Russini Saturday morning, Fields is going to test the market.
“Justin Fields, wanted back in Pittsburgh, is expected to test the market,” Russini tweeted Saturday morning.
As free agency approaches, the QB carousel is beginning to spin:
◽️ Decision makers around the league expect Sam Darnold to end up in Seattle on a multi-year deal
◽️ Minnesota will attempt to pivot and sign Daniel Jones, who is receiving interest from the Colts
◽️ The Vikings… pic.twitter.com/wu8NHBg4dW
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) March 8, 2025
That’s not all that much of a surprise, considering reports Friday night indicated that Fields has a “strong market” that includes the New York Jets, according to a previous report from FOX NFL Insider Jordan Schulz.
With the trade of QB Geno Smith from the Seattle Seahawks to the Las Vegas Raiders Friday evening, the quarterback carousel was dealt a major shakeup. On Saturday morning, news broke that QB Sam Darnold is unexpected to return to the Minnesota Vikings, causing another significant domino to fall as the perceived best QB available could now be on the move.
That should create more opportunities for Fields, who has stated his desire to remain in Pittsburgh in the past, but hasn’t come to an agreement with the Steelers yet, though the two sides have been in communication.
Fields is coming off of a 2024 season in which he started the first six games of the season due to a Russell Wilson calf injury. Fields went 4-2 and showed improvement as both a passer and as a runner. But once Wilson was healthy, the Steelers — particularly Tomlin — benched him for Wilson. Tomlin admittedly went “lone ranger” as the many within the Steelers wanted to stick with Fields. But that move was made, and Fields never really saw the field much after that.
Fields has been the popular choice among media members and the fan base when it comes down to him or Wilson in free agency. He’s just 26 years old and showed some growth at the position last season. In those six starts, Fields took care of the football, throwing just one interception. He added five touchdown passes and had another five rushing touchdowns, giving the Steelers a significant boost in the red zone.
But after the change to Wilson, Fields never got another opportunity, outside of some schemed-up touches in specific packages. Even when things were going bad down the stretch, Fields was seemingly never an option to go back to as the starting quarterback, which has many questioning if the Steelers will — or should — re-sign him as the starting QB in 2025.
Based on Russini’s report, he’s going to test the market, and according to some reporting from CBS Sports’ Aditi Kinkhabwala, Fields’ decision to ultimately return to Pittsburgh could hinder on if he believes he can trust the Steelers to stick with him as the starting QB in 2025.
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