As of Tuesday afternoon, it appeared that New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers would ultimately conform to a cope with both the Pittsburgh Steelers or the New York Giants after Justin Fields agreed to a two-year, $40M deal to function Rodgers’ alternative.
In response to Josh Carney of Steelers Depot, The Athletic’s Chase Daniel, former NFL QB, revealed throughout Tuesday’s version of FS1’s “The Facility” program that Pittsburgh beforehand made a suggestion to Sam Darnold. Darnold, the highest quarterback of this free-agency class, agreed to a three-year, $100.5M deal to depart the Minnesota Vikings for the Seattle Seahawks.
Daniel added that the cash connected to Pittsburgh’s proposal “wasn’t as a lot as” what the Seahawks might be paying Darnold. Daniel additionally stated that Darnold most well-liked to play underneath Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak slightly than underneath Pittsburgh OC Arthur Smith.
Kubiak was the San Francisco 49ers’ passing sport coordinator when Darnold was a backup with that group throughout the 2023 season.
“He felt extra comfy with the offense that they run,” Daniel stated about Darnold choosing Seattle over Pittsburgh. Kubiak’s offense is just like what Darnold had taking part in underneath Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell this previous marketing campaign. In response to Pro Football Reference, Darnold ended the 2024 common season ranked fifth within the league with 4,319 passing yards, fifth with 35 passing touchdowns and sixth amongst certified quarterbacks with a 102.5 passer score.
Mike DeFabo of The Athletic famous on Tuesday that the Steelers “did need Fields to be their quarterback in 2025” however solely “at their value.” Darnold would at all times be a dearer choice than Fields, so one might assume that the Steelers even touched base with Darnold’s camp throughout the authorized tampering portion of free company, suggesting re-signing Fields was by no means Pittsburgh’s choice.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini and others identified that Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin appeared to say a lot concerning his ideas of Fields when Tomlin benched the 26-year-old in favor of veteran Russell Wilson this previous October after Fields went 4-2 as a starter. It now seems Tomlin and Co. had been by no means all that critical about re-signing Fields until he gave the Steelers a big hometown low cost.
