The Pittsburgh Steelers offense has been a mess all season, starting with QB Kenny Pickett and offensive coordinator Matt Canada. Yesterday’s Week Four matchup in particular was a disaster, with the Steelers only managing only six points. Former NFL wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh was a guest on The Herd with Colin Cowherd Monday, and he said the Steelers need to find an answer at quarterback and get themselves a new play-caller.
“If you’re the Steelers, it looks as if Kenny Pickett is not going to be the answer. You have to find a guy that is the answer,” the former Bengals wide receiver told Cowherd. “But, you gotta get an offensive coordinator. I like Matt Canada. When he was at LSU I talked to him a few times, recruiting guys. I would be surprised by tomorrow if they don’t announce somebody else’s calling plays.”
The response about Pickett was in response to Cowherd’s ridiculous trade proposal last week that had the Steelers sending OLB T.J. Watt, WR George Pickens and three first-round picks for Caleb Williams, USC’s quarterback who’s projected to be the top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Houshmandzadeh said he would do it if the Steelers traded two firsts instead of three and said the Steelers’ ability to draft pass rushers and receivers would make it palatable.
It’s a fair reply, but there’s zero chance the Steelers move on from Pickett after this season and zero chance they move Watt and Pickens in a trade. So it’s a rather pointless hypothetical. But the larger point about Pickett potentially not being the guy is a valid one, as he’s shown some regression from his rookie season to how he’s played in 2023.
You can argue things might look different with another offensive coordinator, but Canada isn’t solely responsible for every problem. Pickett’s accuracy, decision-making and reads have been questionable this year outside of the play-calling and Canada issues.
But the issues with Canada are real, and we’re on Year Three of him running the offense. There hasn’t been any tangible growth or improvement, and at some point, the Steelers are going to have to move on. It’s unlikely to happen during the season since that’s just not something the Steelers do, but the offense has been a disaster almost every year under Canada. It’s reaching a breaking point right now.
There’s not a lot of hope around the Steelers right now. Pickett is currently hurt, and his status is up in the air for this weekend against the Baltimore Ravens. It is still early in the season, and the Steelers are still 2-2. So there’s room for them to turn things around.
But we’ve seen this story before with Canada, and if Pickett’s play doesn’t improve, the Steelers might need to find an outside solution in the coming years at quarterback. They need to find one now at offensive coordinator, but that’s incredibly unlikely to happen. We’ll see what the rest of the season holds.
Watch the full segment below.
