When it comes to the quarterback position in the NFL, there is one golden rule, and that is A.B.S. – Always Be Scouting. Even when you have a franchise quarterback, you have to be looking at who is coming out of college and who is becoming available, because you never know how things might turn out.
Of course, scouting becomes increasingly important when your quarterback is nearing the end of his career, which is where the Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves right how with Ben Roethlisberger. They don’t know who will be under center in 2022, but they have some early candidates.
“In the long term, only one of them is contractually obligated beyond this season”, general manager Kevin Colbert told CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora recently, referring to Mason Rudolph. A 2018 third-round pick, the team signed him to a one-year extension this offseason. Also on the roster are Joshua Dobbs and Dwayne Haskins, the latter a 2019 first-round pick of Washington.
“How that group sorts itself out remains to be seen”, Colbert added. “Obviously, Ben is Ben, and he is doing great. Mason is showing up as that potential No. 2, and Dwayne and Josh are having a nice battle to see who can be the three or who can push two”.
Those are interesting comments that do leave the door open for the possibility of there being a discussion about who the backup quarterback is come September. With Haskins’ good showings and Rudolph’s training camp interceptions, it has become a conversation whether they wanted it to be or not.
Rudolph has started nine games for the Steelers over the course of the past two seasons. Haskins started 13 games for Washington during his two seasons there. He threw more interceptions than touchdowns. But right now, he is the better second arm in training camp.
“Short term, it’s good”, Colbert said of the quarterback situation, specifically for the 2021 season. “Long term, I’d say that’s part of what we have to continue to do — to always be looking for that next quarterback. and even when Ben was younger we still scouted all the quarterbacks”.
Will either Rudolph or Haskins—who will be a restricted free agent in 2022—be starting under center for the Steelers next year? Could it even still be Roethlisberger? There’s still so much that we don’t know about what this team will look like a year from now, but no question mark looms nearly as large as this.
