If the Pittsburgh Steelers want to make a big offseason acquisition, they have a few choices.
Trades up could occur throughout the draft. To strengthen their defense, Pittsburgh might acquire a top-tier corner through trade.
They might also add a new quarterback.
Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report has identified one trade that sticks out among all the available quarterbacks.
Gagnon proposed a trade for the Steelers to acquire Justin Fields, the quarterback for the Chicago Bears, on a list of trade proposals that would drastically alter the NFL in 2024.
The acquisition of a new quarterback would undoubtedly satisfy the team’s desire, and it might not even come at a huge financial cost to the Steelers.
What it Would Take for Steelers to Land Fields
The Bears’ choice to choose Fields in the first round by trading up hasn’t gone precisely as planned.
Since that decision, they have consistently placed among the top 10 every season.
They won’t, however, be seeking to simply give Fields away as the 49ers did with Trey Lance last offseason or the Browns did with Baker Mayfield the year before just because they can choose his replacement in April.
Fields is coming off of his greatest season to date and has done well enough over the prior three years to retain some value.
Teams like the Raiders and Falcons, who are also in need of a quarterback but are unable to select one of this year’s top prospects, should provide some competition for him.
Bears source Josh Schrock reports that Fields’ current projected trade value is a Day Two pick, but if more teams are interested, the price may increase.
That would make it more difficult for the Steelers to select players to fill the other needs, but it’s still a good deal for a cost-controlled quarterback who would unquestionably be an improvement over Kenny Pickett.
Why it Could Work
The impact Arthur Smith’s hiring as the Steelers’ new offensive coordinator would have on the quarterback position is one of the team’s main worries.
With a seasoned quarterback under center, he enjoyed his two greatest seasons with the Titans. Even though Ryan Tannehill wasn’t exactly a developing quarterback, those were some of his best seasons in football.
He didn’t have the best of luck with any of the Falcons quarterbacks during the previous three seasons.
The Steelers need Pickett to be their quarterback going forward, and it would be crucial with Fields as well, but he hasn’t really demonstrated the ability to develop a QB.
Still, there are some strategies that Fields should adopt that were effective for Tannehill.
The Titans made good use of play action and run-pass options with Tannehill at center.
Ever since he was a college student, Fields has been successful with play action. Adding RPOs would force the opposition defense to guess and give the quarterback more time to release the ball from his hands.
The combination of all of it and Fields’ running prowess would make it hard to forecast the Steelers’ offense.
In Tennessee, Smith’s system made good use of tight ends as well. In 2020, the tight ends for the Titans together racked up over 800 yards.
Throughout his career, Fields has relied heavily on Cole Kmet; in 2023, they connected 73 times for 719 yards.
Fields would have Darnell Washington and Pat Freiermuth to pass to at tight end in Pittsburgh.
Whether he could take them farther than Mason Rudolph did in 2024 is the key question.
Rudolph can return without costing them an early draft pick, and they are certain he can at the very least help them make it to the postseason.
At this stage of his career, Fields hasn’t had the opportunity to demonstrate that he can win in the playoffs.
He ought to offer them a better opportunity than either Rudolph or Pickett, but how much of a chance that is will be crucial to the Steelers.
