The offseason is inevitably a period of projection and speculation, which makes it the ideal time to ponder the hypotheticals that the Pittsburgh Steelers will face over the course of the next year, whether it is addressing free agency, the draft, performance on the field, or some more ephemeral topic.
That is what I will look to address in our Buy or Sell series. In each installment, I will introduce a topic statement and weigh some of the arguments for either buying it (meaning that you agree with it or expect it to be true) or selling it (meaning you disagree with it or expect it to be false).
The range of topics will be intentionally wide, from the general to the specific, from the immediate to that in the far future. And as we all tend to have an opinion on just about everything, I invite you to share your own each morning on the topic statement of the day.
Topic Statement: The Steelers should re-sign Joshua Dobbs to compete for the number three quarterback role (and possibly even have a sub-package hinted at in the regular season finale).
Explanation: While the Steelers did trade Dobbs in 2019, they only did so after they were offered good value for his services (a fifth-round pick) when they had a fourth quarterback (Devlin Hodges) that they already liked. The fact that they were quick to bring him back this past season when he was valuable shows that they still have a lot of respect for his physical and mental abilities, and Dwayne Haskins certainly is not a shoe-in to be on the roster.
Buy:
Joshua Dobbs is going to come dirt cheap, so there is really no incentive not to re-sign him. He will almost surely be had for a veteran-minimum contract, and with a minimal guarantee, so there will be virtually no risk if he were to not make the roster. That is the best incentive to re-sign him, now that he is heading into unrestricted free agency.
The other area of interest is the ‘upside’. While he is never going to be a direct backup again, I think there is an argument to be made that he can have a role in a more creative offense, which they should have with Matt Canada as offensive coordinator. They can manage to dress three quarterbacks like the New Orleans Saints have done, allowing Dobbs to get on the field and use his legs as an option player.
Sell:
The Steelers need to be looking for their next potential starter, and Art Rooney II pretty much already acknowledged that they need more help at the position than they currently have after signing Dwayne Haskins. There is no sense in retreading, and they have already moved on from Devlin Hodges.
They already have Ben Roethlisberger, Mason Rudolph, and Haskins. The next quarterback they add should be a draft pick, unless they somehow manage to acquire somebody via trade. If the offense is relying on a gimmick backup, then there is a bigger problem.
