The Pittsburgh Steelers have not ruled out a return for either Russell Wilson or Justin Fields and are talking to both quarterbacks about a potential return, according to a report by Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Though it has been widely reported that the Steelers would prefer to bring back Fields of their two internal candidates, Schefter said the team has continued dialogue with both players. That could be in response to a belief that there could be a robust market for Fields if he hits free agency in March, meaning the Steelers may not be able to lock him up ahead of time.
"Returning to Pittsburgh remains a possibility for Russell Wilson, as it does for Justin Fields," Schefter said on ESPN on Sunday . "The Steelers have made it very clear they'd like to bring back one of those two quarterbacks … There will be a market for Justin Fields, a number of teams interested in him."
Steelers president Art Rooney II said in his post-season press conference that his intention was to sign one of the two quarterbacks to a multi-year contract.
"We've had conversations with both of them, yeah. In terms of the players, they both have said they'd like to come back, so that's a good start," Rooney said.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields at practice on Nov. 26, 2024. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
The Tennessee Titans , New York Jets , New York Giants and even the Baltimore Ravens have been linked to Fields as possible landing spots .
It's been widely reported that the Steelers would prefer Fields to Wilson for 2025 , but Rooney and head coach Mike Tomlin were careful to include both quarterbacks as possibilities in their post-season remarks.
The Steelers have exclusive negotiating rights with both players until the start of free agency on March 10 . They would probably like to get a deal done with one of the two quarterbacks before then, but if Fields sees a potential big payday in free agency, he may want to wait and test the market.
That would leave the Steelers with the decision of paying up for that big money contract themselves before the bidding starts, waiting for Fields, and risk landing neither player, or passing on the younger player and proactively re-signing Wilson.
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