Steelers Made The Right Decision Letting Justin Fields Go After Witnessing Disastrous 2025 Performance
The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a fantastic start to the 2025 season after current quarterback Aaron Rodgers has proven that he can still play at an elite level. He's thrown for 1,270 yards and 14 touchdowns, with only five interceptions so far throughout the year. Many insiders and experts believed the Steelers would not see much success with Rodgers at the quarterback position. They preferred that the team should've kept one of two former quarterbacks in Justin Fields or Russell Wilson, believing that either one would lead the Steelers to more success through the same timeframe into the season than Rodgers would ever bring by himself.
However, while Rodgers continues to thrive in Pittsburgh, the same cannot be said for either Wilson or Fields, with Fields in particular coming under some recent scrutiny for his particularly poor performance throughout the 2025 season. Through six games this year, Fields, now starting for the New York Jets, has only thrown four touchdowns and zero interceptions, but has fumbled a staggering three times and was benched in last week's loss to the Carolina Panthers, 13-6. Two days after that horrific loss for the Jets, Fields was indirectly called out by Jets Owner Woody Johnson when he spoke to the media at the NFL's Fall League Meeting in New York, as Johnson fielded questions regarding the status of Jets Head Coach Aaron Glenn.
It seems clear that the Steelers dodged a massive bullet by letting Fields go in the offseason and bringing in Rodgers. It's not to say that the Jets' recent woes are all on Fields, but the production at the quarterback level has to be up to par with league standards. They've certainly fallen short with Fields thus far.
There were plenty of statements made around the league regarding Rodgers' potential with the Steelers, and so far, Rodgers has proven the ones who had faith in him right through six weeks. The offense has been able to move the ball consistently, and they've been able to limit the turnover count greatly with Rodgers under center, compared to what could have been had either Fields or Wilson remained with the Steelers by this point in the season.
It's clear that Johnson's comments were solely made to keep Glenn around, referencing that most teams in the league would struggle with the level of quarterback play Fields has given the Jets through six weeks. While the Jets seem to be trending down with the ex-Steelers quarterback at the helm, the Steelers appear to be trending upward with Rodgers, the ex-Jets quarterback at the helm, which seems to have vindicated the ones around the league who remarked that bringing Rodgers in would both save his career, and save the Steelers organization.
Steelers Rewarded For Smart Decision Making By Signing Rodgers
Rodgers has currently led the Steelers to a 4-2 record as the team sits atop the AFC North through seven weeks. The collective outlook could theoretically be much worse if Fields had remained the starter, and his performance as the Jets starting quarterback through seven weeks has shown this well. The Steelers not only benefit well from Rodgers' much higher level of play, but the team benefits from his experience and leadership as a whole, as the entire locker room appears more unified around their starting quarterback as the team prepares to enter one of the tougher stretches of their schedule. This is after losing a close matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals on
The Steelers should be poised to continue this upward trend with Rodgers leading the team, as the franchise's performance on offense has significantly improved along with his own. This will be crucial going forward for the Steelers. On the opposite side, the Jets continue to trend downward with Fields at the helm, proving the Steelers front office was likely right about letting him walk.
Trade Prediction Brings Buccaneers $26 Million Former First Round Pick
It didn’t take a defensive genius to watch the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lose to the Detroit Lions in Week 7 to realize something is missing on the defensive side of the ball — and that thing is an elite edge rusher.
The Buccaneers tried to bring Haason Reddick in as the solution this offseason, signing him to a 1-year, $14 million contract. It hasn’t been the solution to this point. Reddick only has 1.5 sacks through the first 7 games and hasn’t been a game changer by any means.
Third year edge rusher YaYa Diaby, on the other hand, has seemed to round back into the form that saw him lead the Buccaneers with 7.5 sacks as a rookie in 2023 and leads the Buccaneers with 4.0 sacks.
Getting another edger rusher who can impact games might be the key to the Buccaneers cementing themselves as legitimate NFC contenders, and Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox thinks they might be able to get one via a trade.
Knox’s trade pitch would see the Buccaneers land New York Jets edge rusher, former first round pick and Pro Bowler Jermaine Johnson II in exchange for a conditional 2026 third round pick — although that price might be a bit high.
“Teams are circling the winless Jets, hoping to pry a starting-caliber player from a team that is going nowhere fast,” Knox wrote on October 22. “While Johnson has just one sack this season, he’s also making his way back from a torn Achilles suffered in 2024. He had 7.5 sacks and 25 QB pressures back in 2023. At 26 years old and with a contract that runs through 2026, he should interest teams looking for short- or long-term help.”
While Johnson is in the final season of the 4-year, $13 million contract he signed after the Jets drafted him in the first round (No. 26 overall) of the 2022 NFL draft, he’s due another $13.411 million in 2026 after the Jets picked up the fifth year option on his contract.
Johnson Went From Netflix Series to NFL Stardom
Johnson, 6-foot-5 and 254 pounds, first popped onto the radars of football fans on the groundbreaking Netflix documentary series “Last Chance U” at Independence (Kansas) Community College, then played 2 seasons at Georgia before transferring to Florida State for his final season.
In 2021 at Florida State, Johnson was dominant with 70 tackles, 18 TFL and 12.0 sacks on the way to being named ACC Defensive Player of the Year as well as All-American.
Johnson solidified his draft stock by running the 40-yard dash in 4.58 seconds at the NFL scouting combine and drew a comparison to 2-time NFL All-Pro and 4-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Maxx Crosby.
“Johnson has NFL traits and the potential to keep getting bigger and better as a pro,” NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote in 2022. “Johnson’s blend of strength and athleticism should make him a firm edge-setter and playmaker near the line of scrimmage for odd or even fronts.”
Bucs Rushing Passer ‘By Committee’ Right Now
While the Buccaneers might be able to use an elite edge rusher, saying they are missing a pass rush altogether would be a fallacy — they’re currently sixth in the NFL with 20.0 sacks through 7 games and a 5-2 start to the season.
What’s even more incredible about that is the Buccaneers are doing so without last year’s sacks leader, Calijah Kancey, who suffered a season ending injury when he tore his triceps tendon in Week 2 against the Houston Texans.
