Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin reached out to quarterback Russell Wilson on Saturday night when the team was trading for Justin Fields to let him know that he was still considered the team's starter going into the 2024 season. However, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that while that is Tomlin's plan, Fields is going to compete, regardless. The 35-year-old Wilson will open the regular season as Pittsburgh's starter after a bounce-back campaign in 2023 in his final season with the Denver Broncos, but the aging signal-caller is going to need to play well to hold off Fields, who has more fantasy upside because of his elite rushing abilities. With George Pickens, Van Jefferson and Calvin Austin III currently the team's top-three receivers, Wilson will be a high-end QB2, at best, in fantasy for what will likely be a run-first offense.

The Chicago Bears traded quarterback Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a conditional 2025 sixth-round pick. Based on playing time, the sixth-round pick can become a fourth-round selection. With Fields shipped to Pittsburgh, the Bears are set to select USC quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. It becomes an interesting situation in Pittsburgh with Fields joining Russell Wilson, who signed a one-year deal with the Steelers this offseason. The 25-year-old threw for 2,562 yards and a 16:9 TD: INT ratio while rushing for 657 yards and four scores over 13 games for the Bears in 2023. The Steelers are down to Wilson and Fields on the quarterback depth chart after trading Kenny Pickett to the Eagles and Mason Rudolph signing with the Titans via free agency. Whoever wins Pittsburgh's quarterback battle between Fields and Wilson is a serviceable QB2 in superflex leagues, with Fields having a higher ceiling between the two signal callers.

The Carolina Panthers plan to host former Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Mike Williams (knee) for a visit next week, according to a league source. Williams, who suffered a season-ending torn ACL in Week 3 of last year, was released earlier this week due to salary cap purposes. The 29-year-old they call Big Mike was set to make $20 million in the final year of his three-year extension in 2024. Now that most of the big free agents have already chosen new teams, Williams is one of the biggest names available on the open market and would give young quarterback Bryce Young a big new target in the passing game after Carolina already traded for wideout Diontae Johnson. The former seventh overall pick in 2017 by the Bolts out of Clemson has two 1,000-yard seasons in his seven NFL campaigns and scored nine touchdowns in 2021, but his lengthy injury history outweighs his upside at this point.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are signing free-agent wide receiver Van Jefferson to an undisclosed one-year deal on Friday. After the trade of receiver Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers this week, the move to sign Jefferson will give new quarterback Russell Wilson a new weapon alongside George Pickens and Calvin Austin III. The 27-year-old former second-round pick of the Los Angeles Rams in 2020 spent time with new Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith with the Atlanta Falcons last year, catching 12 of 28 targets for 101 yards in 12 games (five starts) with the team. The move to Pittsburgh should be a boost for Jefferson's weak fantasy value, but the Steelers could also add to the position in the upcoming NFL draft. In four years in the NFL, Jefferson has 113 receptions for 1,600 yards and 10 touchdowns in 61 games (35 starts).

The Pittsburgh Steelers announced on Friday that they have officially signed quarterback Russell Wilson to an undisclosed one-year deal. As was fully expected this offseason, the Denver Broncos released Wilson with a post-June 1 designation, and he quickly latched on with the Steelers for the 2024 season. The 35-year-old will be in a competition with former first-rounder Kenny Pickett in training camp this summer, but the expectation is that Wilson will win the job, especially when considering how bad Pickett was as the starter last year before getting hurt. As of right now, the Steelers' top two wideouts are George Pickens and Calvin Austin III after the team traded Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers, so Wilson doesn't exactly have a standout group of offensive weapons to work with. After a bounce-back year in Denver in 2023, he should be considered a midrange QB2, at best, heading into his first year in the Steel City.