The Chicago Bears won’t have a shortage of potential trade partners for Justin Fields if they decide to shop the QB ahead of the NFL draft.
Rebuilding franchises and some in the playoffs could be landing spots for Fields. One such outfit is the Pittsburgh Steelers, who started three different quarterbacks during the regular season.
“Mike Tomlin has stood by embattled 2022 first-rounder Kenny Pickett through a pair of ugly, injury-littered seasons,” Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports wrote on December 22. “But the Steelers’ late-year struggles and frequent offensive shortcomings could finally spark a bolder dart-throw. If they’re picking outside the top 10, they could easily view Fields as higher-upside competition for Pickett, with the chance to rebuild the offensive staff in a way that caters to his strengths.”
The Steelers are in such a bad way at quarterback that they will run out Mason Rudolph for their opening playoff game on the road against the Buffalo Bills. The league scheduled that game for Sunday on Super Wild Card Weekend, but the governor of New York pushed it back to Monday due to inclement weather.
Rudolph began the season as the team’s third-string option, though he has played well for Pittsburgh over a three-game win streak that landed the Steelers the No. 7 seed in the AFC. He completed 74.3% of his passes for 719 yards and 3 TDs this season, per Pro Football Reference.
Rudolph took Mitch Trubisky’s job after he failed in Pickett’s stead. Pickett, who underwent ankle surgery, said he was ready to play in a must-win game against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 17, per CBS Sports, but the team stayed with Rudolph.
Justin Fields Can Usher in New Era in Pittsburgh, Net Bears 1st-Round Pick
The Steelers would pick No. 23 overall if the draft started ahead of the playoffs. No matter how the first weekend of the postseason shakes out, Pittsburgh will not select higher than 19th this April, per Tankathon. As such, the upcoming draft doesn’t appear a likely avenue for Pittsburgh to find a QB — at least not a first-round talent they’ll want to throw into the fire in his rookie campaign.
Fields, on the other hand, has proven himself a capable starter over the past three seasons and is the type of player the Steelers might be able to acquire for a pick in the range of No. 20 overall.
Adding to the uncertainty in Pittsburgh was the team’s choice to fire offensive coordinator Matt Canada mid-season and the fact that Tomlin’s future with the franchise remains up in the air.
“Could another big-name head coach be on the move?” Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk said on NBC’s playoff broadcast Saturday. “Mike Tomlin will make a decision about his future after the season.”
