The Pittsburgh Steelers overhauled their quarterback room ahead of the 2024 season.
Last year, the Steelers rotated between Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph. Pittsburgh traded Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles, and Trubisky (Buffalo Bills) and Rudolph (Tennessee Titans) left in free agency.
Veteran quarterback Russell Wilson had a falling out with the Denver Broncos. The front office realized they wanted to move in a different direction and released the quarterback despite a huge dead cap penalty. The good news for potential suitors for Wilson was this meant he could sign for the veteran minimum and not be a big cap hit.
Pittsburgh signed Wilson to a one-year, $1.2 million deal with the Steelers and GM Omar Khan said that the intention was for him to be the starter. Pittsburgh then sent a future sixth-round draft pick to the Chicago Bears for Justin Fields.
While the intention was to have Wilson start, a preseason calf injury has sidelined the veteran and Fields was forced to take over.
Heading into a Week 5 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, Fields remains the starter and Wilson is still dealing with the injury.
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Steelers QB Depth Chart
| Rank | Player Name |
| 1 | Justin Fields |
| 2 | Russell Wilson |
| 3 | Kyle Allen* |
Allen is the third-string quarterback. With Wilson's injuries, he has been Fields' backup, but he hasn't seen any game action so far this season.
When Wilson is healthy, Allen will likely be the team's emergency quarterback and could go back to the practice squad.
No. 1 Justin Fields
Fields had the opportunity to start fall into his lap, but he hasn't squandered it. His box score numbers may not be the best, but the Steelers are 3-1 heading into Sunday night's game against the Cowboys.
While Fields has developed a solid rapport with wide receiver George Pickens, the offense was always going to be run-first this season. He hasn't been able to break off the long runs we saw from him in Chicago, but he has been successful running near the goal line.
| Games | Completions | Attempts | Passing Yards | Passing TDs | Interceptions | Rushes | Rushing Yards | Rushing TDs | |
| Justin Fields 2024 | 4 | 77 | 109 | 830 | 3 | 1 | 38 | 145 | 3 |
Fields is making the most out of his fresh start. He was drafted 11th overall in 2021 and was supposed to be the savior under center for the Chicago Bears. It wasn't meant to be — despite the insane rushing plays that Fields would break off out of nowhere, he couldn't consistently lead the offense.
Fields wasn't the only issue that Chicago had, and yet as the quarterback, it all fell on his shoulders.
After pulling off a trade that gave them the number one pick in 2024, Chicago faced a decision. It could either commit long-term to Fields or reset at the position with the No. 1 pick. The Bears chose to go with Caleb Williams first overall and sent Fields to Pittsburgh.
The good news for Chicago is that it was a conditional sixth-round pick in 2025 that could become a fourth dependent on playing time, and Fields is already making strides to making the pick better for the Bears.
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No. 2 Russell Wilson
Wilson has yet to log a full week of practice participation since suffering his calf injury in the preseason. It was branded as a minor injury, but it was significant enough for him to miss the first month of the season.
It's worth noting that Wilson was ruled inactive each week, but after Week 1 was listed as the emergency quarterback. This doesn't mean his calf was healthy, but the injury wasn't bad enough that he couldn't go out there if both Fields and Allen got hurt.
Wilson had a good season with Denver in 2023 before he was benched. The front office had decided they were going to move on from the quarterback and called for his benching to avoid an injury clause in his contract that would have fully guaranteed a large portion of the remaining money he was owed.
| Games | Completions | Attempts | Passing Yards | Passing TDs | Interceptions | |
| Wilson 2023 stats | 15 | 297 | 447 | 3,070 | 26 | 8 |
Compared to the 15 games he played for Denver in 2022, Wilson had almost 500 fewer yards but 10 more touchdowns and three fewer interceptions in 2023.
