Steelers Wanted Justin Fields the Whole Time

The Pittsburgh Steelers were working toward Justin Fields before any quarterback move.

Chicago Bears v Cleveland Browns / Nick Cammett/GettyImages

ORLANDO -- When the Pittsburgh Steelers landed Justin Fields in a trade with the Chicago Bears, it appeared the move was luck, grabbing the best possible backup after having to deal Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles. But in reality, the move by general manager Omar Khan was a work in progress before the team even signed Russell Wilson. 

Speaking at the NFL's annual meetings, head coach Mike Tomlin was asked plenty of questions about the trade of Pickett and acquisition of Fields. In his responses, he detailed that the team was actually looking into a trade with the Bears prior to Pickett's request to leave, and with his departure, the move became an easy call. 

"In the days following our acquisition of Russell, Kenny expressed his desire for a change of scenary. As I mentioned, we have been in pretty fluid communication with Chicago. After we got a sense of what direction that was going, the dominoes started to fall and we did the transactions necessary to send Kenny to Philly and acquire Justin," Tomlin said.

"We're excited about the guys that we have in Justin and Russell. Just really can't wait to get started."

Landing Wilson for a veteran minimum contract probably wasn't forseen when the Steelers starting looking for a quarterback. So, when they began their quest for competition alongside Pickett, it appears they were looking at Fields as a candidate. 

Now in Pittsburgh, the Steelers are viewing Fields as a backup - for now. He'll get an opportunity to compete with Wilson, but Tomlin has already said Wilson will be in "pole position" to earn the starting job. 

The team isn't looking toward the future, and probably won't be until after the season. That doesn't rule anything out with Fields, and with them looking to add him before signing Wilson, it's hard to imagine they don't see an ideal situation where the 25-year-old turns into something bigger than QB2. 

"He oozes talent and potential," Tomlin said. "He's worn the responsibility of being a franchise quarterback, but still, he gets an opportunity to come into a community-like situation and learn from a guy who's been doing it for over a decade. There's a lot of meat left on that bone, man. I'm just excited about working to be a part of extracting it."

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