Insider seems to pour cold water over Steelers, Sam Darnold chatter

Sam Darnold's future remains a mystery as the start of free agency approaches.

For a piece published on Wednesday, ESPN's Seth Walder predicted that the current Minnesota Vikings quarterback will sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers in free agency "because they have the most to offer -- a potentially very good defense, winning history under Mike Tomlin and the lack of a top pick (making them less likely to take a first-round rookie)." 

While speaking during a Wednesday "SportsCenter" appearance about Pittsburgh signal-callers Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, ESPN NFL insider Dan Graziano suggested that the Steelers won't become a realistic landing spot for Darnold next month. 

"There are people in that building that like Russell Wilson," Graziano said about the Steelers, as shared by Alex Kozora of Steelers Depot. "There are people in that building that would like to try it with Justin Fields. And a lot of it could come down to the contract and how much interest these guys might be able to get elsewhere." 

Darnold, Wilson and Fields will all become eligible to begin speaking with other clubs when the free-agent negotiating window opens on March 10 unless their rights are retained beforehand. While Darnold is viewed as the top quarterback set to reach free agency, it's unclear if either Wilson or Fields would enter springtime workouts as a QB1 for the 2025 season away from Pittsburgh. 

In early February, Steelers and NFL reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala of CBS Sports said that she had learned from "talking to coaches and general managers around the league" that there was not much of a market for Wilson's services at that time. Meanwhile, multiple stories have linked Fields with the New York Jets, New York Giants and Indianapolis Colts. All three of those teams could have him compete for the starting job this summer. 

Per analysts and reporters, Darnold could soon put pen to paper on a deal similar to the three-year contract that reportedly had a maximum value of $115M that Baker Mayfield received from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last offseason. Both Wilson and Fields will be less expensive for clubs such as the Steelers. 

Steelers general manager Omar Khan acknowledged on Tuesday that re-signing Wilson or Fields is the "ideal scenario" for Pittsburgh. Assuming Graziano is right about the Steelers potentially choosing the cheaper of those two options, chatter about Pittsburgh possibly pursuing Darnold can likely be put to bed.