If the Pittsburgh Steelers want to make a big offseason acquisition, they have a few choices.
Trades up could occur throughout the draft. To strengthen their defence, Pittsburgh might acquire a top-tier corner through trade.
They might also add a new quarterback.
Although they’ve been connected to almost every quarterback available, Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report singles out one trade in particular.
Gagnon proposed a trade for the Steelers to acquire Justin Fields, the quarterback for the Chicago Bears, on a list of trade proposals that would drastically alter the NFL in 2024.
The acquisition of a new quarterback would undoubtedly satisfy the team’s desire, and it might not even come at a huge financial cost to the Steelers.
What it Would Take for Steelers to Land Fields
The Bears’ choice to choose Fields in the first round by trading up hasn’t gone precisely as planned.
Since that decision, they have consistently placed among the top 10 every season.
They won’t, however, be seeking to simply give Fields away as the 49ers did with Trey Lance last offseason or the Browns did with Baker Mayfield the year before just because they can choose his replacement in April.
Fields is coming off of his greatest season to date and has done well enough over the prior three years to retain some value.
Teams like the Raiders and Falcons, who are also in need of a quarterback but are unable to select one of this year’s top prospects, should provide some competition for him.
Bears source Josh Schrock reports that Fields’ current projected trade value is a Day Two pick, but if more teams are interested, the price may increase.
That would make it more difficult for the Steelers to select players to fill the other needs, but it’s still a good deal for a cost-controlled quarterback who would unquestionably be an improvement over Kenny Pickett.
The impact Arthur Smith’s hiring as the Steelers’ new offensive coordinator would have on the quarterback position is one of the team’s main worries.
With a seasoned quarterback under centre, he enjoyed his two greatest seasons with the Titans. Even though Ryan Tannehill wasn’t exactly a developing quarterback, those were some of his best seasons in football.
He didn’t have the best of luck with any of the Falcons quarterbacks during the previous three seasons.
The Steelers need Pickett to be their quarterback going forward, and it would be crucial with Fields as well, but he hasn’t really demonstrated the ability to develop a QB.
Still, there are some strategies that Fields should adopt that were effective for Tannehill.
