Ben Roethlisberger explains what he thinks the Steelers should do at quarterback

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a quarterback under contract through 2025: recently signed Skylar Thompson. Russell Wilson, Justin Fields and Kyle Allen are all set to be free agents, and the future of the position in Pittsburgh is up in the air. Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger outlined what he would do to try to solve Pittsburgh’s quarterback conundrum the latest episode of his Footbahlin podcast.

“I think another thing that needs to be thrown around at the quarterback position is, do you give Russ, I would go to Russ and say, hey, are you willing to take $20-25 million for a year or two? If he says yes, I’d bring him back. If he says no, I’d go to Justin. Don’t let Justin know what I asked, but ask if you’d be willing to take $15-20 (millions) for a year or two?”

Roethlisberger sees both Wilson and Fields as bridge quarterbacks and would look to a veteran like Sam Darnold if neither Wilson nor Fields took that contract.

“While you’re bridging and trying to find, while you’re still actively looking for a rookie quarterback or a young quarterback who would be your guy. If both of those guys say no, I would try to find a way. Is there another guy available? One name that might need to be thrown around is Sam Darnold.”

Roethlisberger also discussed the possibility of drafting a quarterback this year, but said the Steelers should be okay with “taking some lumps for a few years” if that’s the route they take this year.

While Darnold struggled in his last two starts, it’s still likely he’ll command a higher payout than both Wilson and Fields. If neither Wilson nor Fields re-signs, it feels more likely that Pittsburgh will dip its toes back into the veteran quarterback market than draft a starting quarterback in 2025, as it likely won’t be able to draft a starting-caliber player at that place in a weak quarterback class.

Fields probably has a little more upside than Wilson just because he’s younger. He played career-best football in the six games he started for the Steelers this year. If Pittsburgh thinks they can get more out of it, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to commit to him as a starter, at least as a bridge man, while they evaluate the position longer term.

Signing Wilson to a shorter contract makes sense, but he might also want a three- or four-year deal to provide some stability. Given the way he played, with the exception of the playoff loss, the Steelers might not give him the money or the tenure he might be looking for.

There are several possibilities for how their quarterback search could play out, but the 2024 season was a failure as the team is back to square one in terms of finding their future at quarterback. There wasn’t enough out of Fields or Wilson to definitively cement them as the guy going forward, and now the Steelers find themselves in the familiar position of needing to upgrade at quarterback, but have no clear path to do so.