The Pittsburgh Steelers traded for quarterback Justin Fields this offseason but are not expected to pick up his fifth-year option according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

Fields is in the fourth year of the rookie deal he signed with the Bears after being drafted 11th overall in 2021 and the Steelers have until May 2 to decide on picking up an option for the 2025 campaign. That would cost a fully-guaranteed $25.7 million and Fields is currently No. 2 on the depth chart so not committing to Fields beyond 2024 is not surprising.

It’s even less surprising when flipping back to the Steelers’ pre-draft press conference on Monday. General Manager Omar Khan didn’t make any commitments regarding the options for Fields or running back Najee Harris, but he did say that the team has “three guys who are on one-year deals” while discussing the possibility of drafting a quarterback this week.

Heading to free agency off a year spent as a backup to Russell Wilson wouldn’t be an ideal situation for Fields, but there’s a lot to play out before we know how the quarterback situation in Pittsburgh will shape up in 2024.  Many pundits believe that Fields will win the starting job over Wilson, at which point the Steelers will need to decide whether to pay him big-time ala Daniel Jones or take the risk of losing him.