two best players decided to leave Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers allegedly not anticipated to choose up Justin Fields' fifth-year choice
Steelers allegedly not anticipated to choose up Justin Fields’ fifth-year choice
The 2024 season will serve as a prove-it year for Justin Areas.
Fields’ $25 million fifth-year alternative won’t be picked up by the Pittsburgh Steelers, ESPN detailed Wednesday. With the move, the quarterback will enter the final year of his contract in 2024, likely making him a free operator following offseason.
The Steelers procured Areas in Walk as portion of their exertion to modify their quarterback room, sending a conditional 2025 sixth-round choose to the Chicago Bears to get him. Areas, 25, appeared a few advancement as a passer toward the conclusion of final season, but the Bears picked to move on from him as they’re likely to select Caleb Williams with the No. 1 choose in Thursday’s draft. The 2021 first-round choose tossed for a career-high 2,652 yards final year, with 16 passing touchdowns, nine interceptor, 657 hurrying yards and four surging touchdowns in 13 diversions. Chicago was 5-8 in those challenges.
Whereas Areas served as the Bears’ beginning quarterback for the larger part of the past three seasons, Russell Wilson entered the offseason program as Pittsburgh’s beginning quarterback. The Steelers marked Wilson for the experienced least of $1.2 million in mid-March after the Broncos released him. Denver will pay the rest of Wilson’s $39 million compensation for 2024.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin told correspondents in Walk that whereas he needed to set up a QB progression for the offseason, the entryway is open for Areas to win the work.
“Rest guaranteed when it’s time to compete, Justin will be given an opportunity to compete, and we’ll permit those folks to sort themselves out,” Tomlin said at the NFL’s alliance gatherings.
Tomlin added that Wilson may be a ingenious “a more youthful fellow like Justin may learn from.”
The news that the Steelers are impossible to choose up Fields’ fifth-year alternative comes on the heels of common chief Omar Khan clearing out open the plausibility that they select a quarterback at a few point in the 2024 NFL Draft.
“I think it’s not reasonable that we’ll be taking a quarterback in Circular 1,” Khan told correspondents at the Steelers’ pre-draft press conference. “There are a few great players there, and I wouldn’t near the entryway on anything. In case there’s an opportunity to progress that room, clearly we’ll see at it. We’ve got three folks who are on one-year bargains, and we got to be open to it.”
Areas, Wilson and veteran backup Kyle Allen are all marked to one-year bargains. In no time after his marking, Wilson was supposedly told that he would be the beginning quarterback, causing Kenny Pickett to ask a exchange. The Steelers exchanged Pickett whereas moreover releasing Mitchell Trubisky and letting Mason Rudolph walk in free organization. All three were conflicting final season, in spite of the fact that the Steelers went 10-7 and made the playoffs.
Now they’re beginning 2024 with a totally unused cast of QBs. The Steelers too ought to make a choice before long on the fifth-year choice of running back Najee Harris.