Steelers’ QB choice will provide New York Giants with an option

Question is, which option?

The Pittsburgh Steelers have two NFL starting-caliber quarterbacks who are headed to free agency in a few weeks. The Steelers are reportedly only going to keep one of Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, opening up a potential bridge quarterback option for the New York Giants.

Steelers owner Art Rooney II said this week that it would be “unlikely” that the Steelers would bring back both quarterbacks in 2025.

“I wouldn’t close the door, but I’d say it’s probably unlikely,” Rooney said Monday. “I think both of them see themselves as starters and I don’t know that they want to share the same job again next year. So, I would say most likely we probably don’t wind up bringing them both back.”

So, who stays and who goes? And will the Giants, desperate for both a quarterback and an improved on-field product for the upcoming season, be interested in whichever one Pittsburgh decides to part with?

Wilson, who will be 37 next season, is easily the more accomplished of the two. He is an eight-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl winner. He is also, though, a fading player who would be looking for his third team in four years if the Steelers decide not to keep him. The Steelers went 6-6 with him at quarterback this season. They finished the season, including playoffs, on a five-game losing streak during which they never scored more than 17 points.

Fields will be just 26 next season. He has never played to the level that was hoped for when the Chicago Bears traded up with the Giants to select him No. 11 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.

The Steelers went 4-2 with Fields starting in 2024 before Wilson replaced him.

Fields has undeniable athleticism and running ability, and flashes talent as a passer, but has never been able to show consistent ability as a thrower.

Would gambling on his upside be too much of a risk for Giants GM Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll, who are likely out of runway when it comes to getting the team moving in the right direction?