For those paying close attention, you may have noticed that the Pittsburgh Steelers appear to be leaving a trail of breadcrumbs that hints at their 2025 quarterback plan.
Yesterday, on January 28, Steelers owners and president Art Rooney II told fans pretty candidly that the franchise is “unlikely” to re-sign both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. Most covering the team assumed this would be the case, but hearing Rooney say it all but confirms that one of either Wilson or Fields won’t be back.
Veteran reporters covering the team — including Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac and Pat McAfee correspondent Mark Kaboly — have both placed their early offseason bets on Fields, predicting that he’ll be the Steelers’ starter heading into training camp. That’s not all.
If you circle back a couple of weeks to head coach Mike Tomlin’s end of year press conference, you might recall that the Steelers HC verified QB mobility is “very” important to him and general manager Omar Khan. Tomlin also noted that they will consider age as another factor.
Needless to say, both those breadcrumbs point to Fields rather than Wilson, with the only outlier being Wilson’s remarks about early extension talks with the Steelers on the Pat McAfee Show. Having said that, it’s important to remember that these chats were not confirmed by Pittsburgh — only Wilson — and we do not know the extent of them.
So, if Fields is the frontrunner for the job based on all these little hints and comments, who would be his backup? Rooney stated that he’d like the QB room to have similar skillsets, and he also mentioned the draft as a potential QB avenue.
Art Rooney said that he would like to have both his QBs with the same skillset — pocket passer and pocket passer / runner and runner. I don’t believe he ever said that before
With that in mind, if Fields is QB1, it’d make a lot of sense for Alabama’s Jalen Milroe to be his understudy.
Steelers Might Have to Spend First-Round Pick in Order to Secure Alabama QB Jalen Milroe
Tomlin made it clear that Fields displayed enough to open up the 2025 season as the starter, but he never said that Pittsburgh wouldn’t target a potential insurance policy. In fact, Rooney practically confirmed that the Steelers will take no chances at quarterback moving forward.
So, why Milroe?
Besides the obvious comparisons between Fields and Milroe as dual-threat QBs and major rushing weapons, Tomlin left more breadcrumbs that lead us back to the Alabama quarterback on January 14.
“Lamar [Jackson] wasn’t taken at the top of the draft, [Jalen] Hurts wasn’t taken in the first round. So, I don’t know that I necessarily agree with the question,” Tomlin responded, when asked about the Steelers needing to potentially have a season where they “take a step back” in order to find an elite QB in the draft.
Now, it could just be a coincidence that Milroe has been compared to players like Hurts and Jackson, but when you couple that quote with all these other breadcrumbs, you begin to sense a theme.
Whether purposeful or not, the Steelers have been setting the stage for a Fields-Milroe pairing since Wilson’s final snap against the Baltimore Ravens.
Unfortunately, with where Pittsburgh sits in the draft, that likely means spending their first-round selection on the Alabama talent. Milroe might fall to round two, but hoping he drops to No. 52 feels like a stretch.
Some have also suggested that the Steelers trade back in round one, landing Milroe plus more draft capital, but if you like him enough to pick him, the safest move would be to take him at No. 21 overall.
Steelers Beat Reporter Provides ‘the Skinny’ on Jalen Milroe Ahead of 2025 NFL Draft
The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo broke down rookie quarterback options on January 23, and he spent a lot of time on Milroe. First, he provided “the skinny” on the Alabama star, courtesy of The Athletic’s draft expert Dane Brugler.
“The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Milroe might be the most fascinating evaluation in the 2025 draft,” Brugler wrote via DeFabo. “Some will immediately dismiss him as a legitimate quarterback prospect because of his inconsistencies as a passer — and I get it. His lack of precision and timing were major issues at times this season, most notably in Alabama’s losses. But he is also one of the best pure athletes in this draft class.”
“His on-field GPS numbers reflect a 4.3 40, which is even more impressive considering his size,” Brugler went on. “Milroe has high-level arm strength with plenty of impressive throws on his tape, and NFL scouts speak highly about his intelligence and makeup. The NFL is a traits league, and Milroe has a rare package of skills that several teams will be willing to bet on somewhere in the top 50 picks.”
Later, DeFabo attempted to make a “case” for Milroe, relaying: “Milroe’s ‘burst, explosion and speed give him the potential to be a souped-up version of Jalen Hurts.’ It’s also interesting that [Steelers] assistant GM Andy Weidl set the draft board for Philadelphia in 2020 when the Eagles drafted Hurts. It seems he and Khan are working to build a run-first offense in a similar mold to Philadelphia’s. Drafting a QB like Milroe would only add to the parallels.”
DeFabo even noted that “a move like this would make the most sense if the Steelers brought back Fields,” allowing Pittsburgh to “lean into an offense that revolves around quarterback mobility.”
“Of all the paths the Steelers could take at QB, this is the one I’m in favor of most,” the beat reporter concluded. “The Steelers could see if Fields is the long-term answer, while also planning for the future.”
It seems we’re not the only ones connecting these breadcrumbs in Pittsburgh.
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Steelers’ Recent Trail of Breadcrumbs Hints at Next QB Pairing