The Pittsburgh Steelers are quickly losing out on potential starting quarterback options, with Justin Fields being the latest off the board. The 2025 free agent is signing a 2-year, $40 million contract with $30 million guaranteed to join the New York Jets.
Fields had a strong start to his Steelers career, piloting the team to a 4-2 record while playing the most consistent football of his career. Being benched for Russell Wilson must have been difficult for him, and I imagine it played a part in his exit from Pittsburgh.
The Jets now get to be the team that tries to get the most out of his physical gifts, while the Steelers are forced to pivot to find a new QB. Here are the winners and losers from Justin Fields's free agency decision.
How the Justin Fields signing affects the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Jets
Winner: Jets playoff chances
The New York Jets had a disappointing 2024 season due in large part to their offense not living up to expectations. The Aaron Rodgers experiment was an abject failure, and the firing of former head coach Robert Saleh led to the defense struggling after strong seasons in 2022 and 2023.
Now, with Rodgers gone and the Jets moving forward with Fields, they have a real chance to build a quality offense centered around the running game.
Breece Hall and Braelon Allen are a dynamic running back duo, and Fields is one of the best runners at the QB position in the league. New coach Aaron Glenn should get the defense back on track, so a solid offense should be all they need to make a playoff push in 2025.
Loser: Steelers 2025 ceiling
The Steelers are in danger of wasting an offseason that began as their most aggressive ever, thanks to the DK Metcalf trade. With no starting-caliber QB on the roster and the options getting more limited with each move, their chances of competing in 2025 have taken a hit.
Fields may not have the pedigree of an Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson, but his unique physical ability and deep ball prowess would have made him an excellent fit for how the Steelers want to play offensively in 2025.
He already showed he could play well enough to win games in this offense in 2024, another year of development and an upgraded receiving corps would have given him the chance to finally break out.
Instead, the Steelers will likely have to rely on an over-the-hill veteran to start for them in 2025, limiting the upside of the roster.
Winner: Russell Wilson/Aaron Rodgers
With Fields out of the picture, Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers seem to be the frontrunners for who will be the Steelers' starting QB in 2025. Wilson is already very familiar with the team after starting 12 games for them in 2024, while Rodgers struggled for the most part with the Jets after returning from an Achilles injury suffered in 2023.
Read More: Darius Slay signing proves Steelers still value experience in the secondary
Both players are well beyond their primes, but it seems the NFL isn't done with them quite yet. Rodgers is the player who offers the most upside in 2025, but Wilson's time already spent in Arthur Smith's offense may give him the edge.
Regardless of who ultimately gets the job, it could be the final contract they sign as future Hall of Fame inductees. Either of them even having a chance at a starting job in 2025 is a win on its own.
Loser: Tyrod Taylor
One of the underlying things lost in the Justin Fields signing is how it affects the rest of the Jets QB room, particularly veteran Tyrod Taylor. Taylor has had a fascinating and often tragic career in the NFL, bouncing around from team to team as both a starter and a backup.
He had three solid seasons as a starter for the Bills before making stops in Cleveland, Los Angeles (Chargers), Houston, and New York with both the Giants and Jets. He suffered injuries that derailed his chances of starting in multiple seasons, most notably a punctured lung due to a pain-killing injection gone awry.
2025 may have been his final chance to start for a team before his career ends. Now 35 years old, he instead will be asked to help mentor Fields and make him the best QB he can be for the Jets.
He may very well be fine with that, but it's worth noting considering his history.