With the question of whether Mike Tomlin was coming back in 2024 being answered with a swift yes, half of the Head Coach-QB duo was finalized. But the other half, the quarterback decision, looms large over the organization heading into the offseason.
The Steelers started three different quarterbacks in 2023, and the consensus rankings of their play seem to be Mason Rudolph first, Kenny Pickett second, and Mitch Trubisky third. Trubisky is likely gone, but the other two at least have an argument to open the 2024 season as the starting quarterback.
Of course, they could always go outside of the organization and bring in someone to take or challenge for the job. Colin Cowherd is among many who feel that this is the best path forward for the team. He shared his thoughts on the roster as a whole on his podcast, The Herd.
“Seattle and Pittsburgh, I’ll argue all day those are top seven or eight rosters,” Cowherd stated. “I love those rosters. Really, you’re doing a disservice if you don’t give up draft capital and players to get the quarterback. Seattle and Pittsburgh have two of many key positions. So if you gotta give up a back, a receiver, one of your corners, and then some draft picks [you do it]. If C.J. Stroud landed in Pittsburgh or Seattle tomorrow, they are conference championship-level teams.”
Houston Texans QB C.J. Stroud certainly isn’t going to be on the move this offseason barring a drastic change. However, there certainly will be a handful of names attached to the Steelers in some capacity, whether it be free agents or potential trade targets.
Doug Gottlieb, also a frequent on The Herd, called out one trade prospect in particular for the Steelers.
“If you’re Mike Tomlin and you look at your quarterback room… why wouldn’t you take a chance on Justin Fields?” Gottlieb pointed out.
Both Cowherd and Gottlieb make valid points. The Steelers have a solid foundation in place, the defense is good, the organization has always been one of the better ones in football, and their offensive weapons aren’t even that bad. But if you are going to win in the NFL without a legit QB, you need the defense to be elite not just good. And it doesn’t seem like this team is going to get there.
The initial plan two years ago when Pittsburgh drafted Kenny Pickett was likely this: hope he can be an average starter while on his rookie contract and use the positional savings to bolster the rest of the roster. The problem with that is that he hasn’t been average by basically any metric. He still might be average, as he’s still just started 24 games with a 14-10 record, far from terrible. But the contending window might be closing for this team, and it wouldn’t shock anyone if the Steelers tried to make a splash upgrade at quarterback to maximize their chances with this veteran defensive core.
