As we’ve moved into the 2020s, it is seemingly every offseason that a new “biggest contract ever” is signed. And no position is a bigger culprit than the quarterback position. The absolute mega deals we’ve seen players like Deshaun Watson and Lamar Jackson get are mind-boggling.
However, is paying your quarterback that much truly the best way to build a team? It’s tough to argue they aren’t worth the money, but there’s also a very viable path to creating a competitive roster without having one of those highly-priced superstar quarterbacks.
Doug Gottlieb talked about this concept on The Herd, and how it relates to what the Steelers are doing with Kenny Pickett.
“So I watched Kenny Pickett last night, and I don’t think that he’s a Herbert or a Burrow and doesn’t pop that way yet.” Gottlieb pointed out. “He’s going to be solid, he’s smart and doesn’t carry the egos of some of the first-round pick quarterbacks, and can get rid of the football. And you look at what the Pittsburgh Steelers have done. They’ve rebuilt their roster, rebuilt their offensive line, rebuilt their wide receiving corps. How have they done it? Because they’re not spending all their money on quarterback. So when I look at Kenny Pickett and the potential for success, it’s a team goal. Is he a five thousand passing-yard quarterback? No, and they don’t need him to be.”
While conventional wisdom may say to go get that elite quarterback regardless of what they cost, there is some historical merit to this idea.
If you look at the last seven Super Bowls, 12 of the 14 teams that made it there had either Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, or a quarterback on a rookie contract, with the only exceptions being the Los Angeles Rams in 2022 with Matt Stafford and the San Francisco 49ers in 2020 with Jimmy Garoppolo. If you go a few years further back, there are even more historical examples, such as the 2014 and 2015 Seattle Seahawks with Russell Wilson and the 2013 San Francisco 49ers with Colin Kaepernick. Spending so little on the quarterback position gave those teams a huge leg up when building the rest of their roster.
That’s similar to what the Steelers are trying to do this season. Guys like Mahomes and Brady are hard to acquire, and if you don’t have one, might as well save at quarterback and invest elsewhere. Moves like extending Alex Highsmith are a lot easier to fit into the budget. when you don’t have a 30 million dollar cap hit at quarterback.
And there’s an added benefit as well. With a good defense, offensive line, and weapons, Kenny Pickett has an ideal situation for a young quarterback in Pittsburgh. All the tools are there for him to succeed, and because of the strong roster around him, it might just take him being solid for the team to succeed.
