There are times when you cover a team/league when you stop and pause out of shock.

Things happen you just can’t believe are happening.

Since covering the Pittsburgh Steelers specifically, I can now say I’ve had this happen twice in a 48 hour stint. The first being the team trading Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday afternoon. The second was the team trading for Justin Fields with the Chicago Bears, and giving up hardly anything for his services on Saturday.

Earlier in the day Saturday we had done a breaking news podcast when our source told us the Steelers were going after Fields with Pickett out of the building. As Dave Schofield, Bryan Davis and I talked it out on the podcast, we all agreed the only hesitation for the move would be surrendering draft capital in 2024. There are too many holes to fill on the roster, and the Steelers would need those picks to fill some of those glaring needs.

When news broke of the trade with Chicago, the trade details were also released. I stared at my phone in astonishment when I read, “Steelers send a 2025 6th Round draft pick to Chicago. Could become a 4th Round draft pick if Fields plays more than 51% of snaps in 2024.”

There was no way this is serious, right? This has to be some fake Adam Schefter account.

As we know now, it wasn’t.

And the legend of Omar Khan grows, at least with his yearly fleecing of the Bears. Steelers fans will never forget the 2nd Round pick garnered for Chase Claypool, a pick which turned into Joey Porter Jr. last draft. Now, the Steelers don’t surrender a 2024 draft pick for a quarterback who won’t break the bank, yet has tremendous upside.

What in the hell were the Bears thinking? General Manager Ryan Poles released a statement about why the deal was done with Pittsburgh, this after he suggested they had been having conversations with “multiple” teams.

Quote from Bears GM Ryan Poles on trading QB Justin Fields: pic.twitter.com/IZoW1vzKdV

— Carmen Vitali (@CarmieV) March 17, 2024

This doesn’t mean the Steelers are set at quarterback. In fact, the harder you look the murkier the waters become. Some are suggesting the Steelers want to give Wilson a long-term deal after this season. To that, I suggest fans take the “everything is awesome” glasses off for a second and realize how crazy those reports are, at this time. If Wilson balls out and looks more like the Seahawks Russell Wilson than the Broncos iteration of Russell Wilson, could it happen?

It could, but this season could also prove Wilson’s time in the sun is coming to a close, and maybe it would be time for Fields to get a legitimate shot at being the next “guy”.

But like those reports, I’m getting ahead of myself. The point of all this is to just realize how crazy this offseason has been, and we aren’t even a month away from the NFL Draft yet. The Steelers still have a lot of work to do to round out the roster before the draft, but is anyone doubting Omar Khan and company? Would anyone question their moves and motives at this juncture?

Yeah, me neither. Time to buckle up, this is going to be a crazy ride…