Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers made an attempt to extend Justin Fields’ contract before signing Aaron Rodgers. However, Fields rejected the offer, and Adam Schefter explained the reasons behind that decision for the former Bears player.
“They could not get a deal done. Either because they were only willing to go to a certain price or because he felt like: ‘Here’s a team that benched me. Why do I want to go back to a team that benched me? Maybe if they had been more aggressive from the jump when the season ended, maybe the chance of that (signing Fields) might have been better. I don’t know. That’s a Justin Fields’ question.”
The insider was very clear that the Steelers’ top priority in the offseason was to sign Matthew Stafford as the key piece to win a Super Bowl. After that, they tried to extend Fields’ deal, and when both of those options were no longer viable, they went after Rodgers.
Steelers tried to sign Matthew Stafford and Justin Fields
The Steelers took notice of the uncertainty Matthew Stafford was experiencing with the Rams, as the quarterback wanted more money to continue playing in Los Angeles. Because of that, Schefter mentioned that Pittsburgh considered a blockbuster trade.
When Stafford confirmed he was staying with the Rams, the Steelers approached Justin Fields, but the Jets offered more money, and the young quarterback may have thought it wasn’t a good idea for his future to stay in a place where he had been benched for Russell Wilson.
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“They were all-in on Matthew Stafford. It didn’t get done. Then they shifted their focus to Justin Fields. It didn’t get done. Then, they went on to Aaron Rodgers. The initial call were about acquiring Matthew Stafford and they had conversations with the Rams about trading for him. Once it didn’t get done, they continued during that time talking with Justin Fields.”
