The Pittsburgh Steelers will certainly be faced with a backup quarterback dilemma next season as both Charlie Batch and Byron Leftwich are once again unrestricted free agents. While there is a good chance that one of the two will be brought back, you have to think that the position will be addressed via the draft or in free agency. The problem with both of those scenarios, however, is that the talent pool is thin in each of them.
The quarterback draft class this year is not very exciting at all, and if you have been following the paths of mid-round prospects; Landry Jones, Ryan Nassib, Tyler Bray and Zac Dysert, you know where I am coming from. All four, in my opinion, need some serious work before even being considered reliable backup quality at the NFL level.
The free agent market doesn\’t look much better as we inch closer towards the free agent signing period. I have listed the names of the unrestricted types that will be available, and as you can clearly see, the pickings are not good. Both Matt Moore and Chase Daniel are intriguing, yet unsexy options, and there is always Brian Hoyer, who spent a few weeks on the Steelers roster this past season when both Ben Roethlisberger and Leftwich were sidelined by injuries.
There are likely to be a few salary cap casualties around the league this offseason in the form of Kevin Kolb and Matt Cassel, but the Steelers will not want to pay much for either of the two should that indeed happen. The Seahawks might be looking to unload Matt Flynn, but trading for him means that you take on his current contract that includes a $5.25 million base salary in 2013.
The Steelers will most likely wait a long while before making a decision on Batch and Leftwich and will need some mini camp arms for the spring. You can expect that a quarterback or two will be signed to a futures contract prior to the draft, but none of those, whoever they end up being, will have a good shot at making the 53 man roster. They are on the street right now for a reason.
With all of the above stated, this position should be fun to watch play out leading up to the draft and beyond.
2013 Unrestricted Free Agent Quarterbacks
Matt Moore
Derek Anderson
Chase Daniel
Rex Grossman
Tarvaris Jackson
Josh Johnson
Josh McCown
Luke McCown
Jordan Palmer
Drew Stanton
Tyler Thigpen
David Carr
Kellen Clemens
Bruce Gradkowski
Matt Leinart
Brian Hoyer
Jason Campbell
Brady Quinn
