‘League Changing’ Trade for Former 1st Round QB Suggested for Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers have some options if they want to make a blockbuster move during the offseason.

They could trade up in the draft. Pittsburgh could trade for an elite corner to round out their defense.

They could also bring in a new QB.

They’ve been linked to just about every available QB out there, but there’s one trade that stands out to Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon.

On a list of trade ideas that could reshape the NFL in 2024, Gagnon suggested a move for the Steelers to acquire Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields.

It’s a move that definitely fill the team’s need for a QB upgrade and it might not even be all that costly for the Steelers.

What it Would Take for Steelers to Land Fields
The Bears’ decision to trade up and draft Fields hasn’t exactly according to plan for them.

They’ve ended up selecting in the top 10 every season since making that selection.

However, the fact that they can draft his replacement in April doesn’t mean that they’re going to be looking to just give Fields away like the 49ers did with Trey Lance last offseason or the Browns did with Baker Mayfield the offseason before.

Fields has performed well enough over the last three years to maintain some value and is coming off of the best season of his career.

There should also be some competition to land him with teams like the Raiders and Falcons also in need of a QB while finding themselves outside of the range to draft one of this year’s top options.

According to Bears insider Josh Schrock, the expected trade value for Fields right now is a Day Two pick, but the price could rise if multiple teams get involved.

For the Steelers, that would make it tougher for them to fill all of the other needs through the draft, but it’s not a bad price for a cost-controlled QB who would definitely be an upgrade over Kenny Pickett.

Why it Could Work
One of the biggest concerns Steelers fans have about Arthur Smith as their new offensive coordinator is what the hire means for their quarterback position.

His two best seasons came with the Titans and he had a veteran under center. Ryan Tannehill had his best seasons of his career in those years, but he wasn’t exactly a developing QB.

Things didn’t work out all that well for him with any of the Falcons’ QBs he had in any of the last three seasons.

He hasn’t really shown the ability to develop a QB, which is what the Steelers need for Pickett to be their future and would be important with Fields too.

However, there are some things that worked for Tannehill that should also work for Fields.

With Tannehill under center, the Titans utilized run-pass options and play action well.

Fields has had success running play action since his college days. Mixing in RPOs would keep opposing defenses guessing and allow the QB to get the ball out of his hands quickly.

All of that mixed with Fields’ ability as a runner would make the Steelers’ offense difficult to predict.

Smith’s offense in Tennessee also used tight ends well. The Titans’ tight ends combined for more than 800 yards in 2020.

Fields has been leaning on Cole Kmet throughout his career and they connected 73 times for 719 yards in 2023.

In Pittsburgh, Fields would have Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington to throw to at tight end.

The big question is whether he could get them further than Mason Rudolph did in 2024.

They can bring Rudolph back without sacrificing an early draft pick and they know he can at least get them to the playoffs.

Fields hasn’t had the chance to prove he can win in the playoffs at this point in his career.

He should give them a better chance than Pickett or Rudolph, but the big question for the Steelers would be just how good of a chance that is.

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