The Justin Fields trade saga is over.
The Bears finally found a suitor for their fourth-year quarterback as he takes his talent to the Steelers.
Spotlighting women in football: Charean Williams ‘NFL Total Access’
Spotlighting women in football focuses on Pro Football Hall of Fame sports journalist Charean Williams for women’s history month on “NFL Total Access”.
Pittsburgh traded a conditional 2025 sixth-round draft pick for Fields. The pick can be as high as a fourth-round selection based on Fields’ playing time.
Fields, however, won’t be the starting quarterback and will backup recently signed Russell Wilson, ESPN’s Brooke Pryor reported.
He enters his fourth NFL season with a looming fifth-year option on the table that the Steelers can pick up. Here’s how Fields’ contract compares to Wilson’s.
MORE: Grading the Steelers’ Justin Fields trade
Justin Fields vs. Russell Wilson contracts
The Steelers struggled to find a consistent, quality quarterback since Ben Roethlisberger retired. Now, they’ve got two solid options under center.
Russell Wilson just signed a one-year deal for the $1.21M minimum.
Justin Fields is due $3,233,448 and the #Steelers will now have the rights to his fifth-year option.
Pittsburgh’s QB depth chart is under contract for under $4.5M total. https://t.co/ym2zUoOfST
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 16, 2024
Pittsburgh signed Wilson about a week ago after the Broncos released him on March 4. He inked a one-year contract on the veteran’s minimum $1.21 million while Denver paid the remaining portion of his deal.
Fields is still on his rookie contract as he enters his fourth season in the NFL. He’s owed $3.2 million, so the Steelers’ quarterbacks will combine for less than $4.5 million of the cap in the 2024 season, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Player Contract value Length
Russell Wilson $1.21 million One-year
Justin Fields $3.2 million One-year
The Steelers also own the rights to Fields’ fifth-year option. Fields’ cap hit on the option is listed at $25.66 million, according to Spotrac.
While the Steelers only gave up a conditional sixth-round pick for Fields, it would make sense that they’d want to keep him long-term and fulfill the starting role after Wilson.