The Pittsburgh Steelers allowed both of their starting quarterbacks from 2024 to walk in free agency.
Russel Wilson landed with the New York Giants and Justin Fields signed a two-year, $40 million contract with the New York Jets, who are scheduled to play the Steelers (schedule was released following his signing) during week one.
As of right now, Mason Rudolph will be the teams’ starting quarterback. The team drafted national champion Will Howard in round six of the NFL Draft, but he will likely need time to develop.
During a recent media session with his new team, Fields was asked about how he felt going against the Steelers right away and he kept it pretty straight forward.
"That's who we play Week 1. There wasn't really a thought to that," Fields said.
Fields went 4-2 as a starter for the Steelers last season, playing in just the first six games. He came into the 2024 season as the backup to Wilson, but was put into the starting role after Wilson suffered a calf injury right before the season started.
The former Chicago Bear showed glimpses of what he’s capable of a season ago, finishing with 1,106 passing yards, 5 touchdowns, and one interception. On the ground he was a problem for most defenses, especially in the red zone, where he had five touchdowns and 289 total rushing yards (six games as a starter, appearing in 10).
Fields did more than keep the Steelers afloat last season, however once Wilson was healthy, Mike Tomlin went with the veteran as his signal caller down the final stretch.
The NFL knows exactly what they are doing with the schedule. After the Steelers didn’t believe in Fields enough to sign him long-term, he gets a chance at revenge.
And with the looming Aaron Rodgers decision, it’s setting up for an extremely compelling game that might be full of dramatic storylines regarding both teams’ quarterbacks.