Jordan Schultz of B/R reports that the Steelers plan to start QB Justin Fields in the season opener against the Falcons.
Russell Wilson’s calf injury flared up this week, which opened the door for the Steelers to go with Fields. Calf injuries are tricky and while reports have said that Wilson believes he can play, it’s probably for the best to buy him some extra time to heal.
Fields, 25, was selected in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Bears out of Ohio State. Chicago traded up to No. 15 overall with the Giants to get Fields and parted with their 2022 first-round pick in the process.
He signed a four-year rookie deal worth $18,871,956 with a signing bonus of $11,085,059 that also included a fifth-year option to pick up on him in 2024 worth $21.978 million guaranteed for the 2025 season.
The Bears traded Fields to the Steelers for a conditional 2025 sixth-round pick that can improve to a fourth-round pick if Fields plays 51 percent of the snaps in 2024. Pittsburgh declined Fields’ fifth-year option.
In 2023, Fields appeared in 13 games for the Bears and completed 61.4 percent of his pass attempts for 2,562 yards, 16 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. He also rushed 124 times for 657 yards and four touchdowns.
Wilson, 35, is a former third-round pick of the Seahawks back in 2012. He was entering the final year of his five-year, $89.142 million contract when the Seahawks signed him to a four-year, $140 million extension that included a $65 million signing bonus.
The Seahawks traded him to the Broncos in 2022 in a blockbuster deal. Wilson stood to make base salaries of $19 million and $22 million over the final two years of his deal when he agreed to a new five-year, $245 million extension that included $165 million in guaranteed money.
However, Wilson didn’t even reach the new portion of his deal before being released by the Broncos, who absorbed a record $85 million dead cap hit. The Steelers later signed him to a one-year contract.
In 2023, Wilson appeared in 15 games for the Broncos and completed 66.4 percent of his passes for 3,070 yards, 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions to go along with 341 yards rushing and three touchdowns.
We have both players included in our Top 100 – 2025 NFL Free Agents list.
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