Entering the offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers have quite a few questions to answer.
None are bigger than the questions surrounding the quarterback position for the Black and Gold.
Second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett struggled mightily in 2023. He failed to meet expectations, clouding his future, especially after the Steelers stuck with Mason Rudolph once Pickett was fully recovered from an ankle injury suffered in Week 13 that required tightrope surgery.
The Steelers went 10-7 on the season and reached the playoffs. Though they were one-and-done — again — under head coach Mike Tomlin, there is a good feeling around the Steelers moving forward, as long as they figure out the quarterback position.
It’s a tricky situation for the Steelers. ESPN’s Bill Barnwell knows that and raised the question of if the Steelers can afford to run it back with Pickett in 2024 as the starting quarterback and let him continue to develop under a new offensive coordinator. Or if they should pull the plug and swing big considering it’s win-now with the core on defense.
“Pickett is about to enter a critical third season, but do the Steelers really have time to let him develop? Their core on defense is getting older, and with Tomlin entering the final year of his contract, the time to win is now,” Barnwell writes regarding the Steelers’ situation under center. “Pittsburgh hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2016 season, and the only player left on the roster who played in that game is kicker Chris Boswell. (Defensive end Cam Heyward was on injured reserve.)
“First-round picks have a longer leash than others, but it would be a major disappointment if general manager Omar Khan didn’t import a veteran to replace Mitch Trubisky and challenge Pickett in 2024. If the Steelers landed on a Geno Smith-sized success, they could have the potential to make a much deeper playoff run.”
Based on the way the season went for Pickett in 2023, the Steelers simply can’t just run it back with the former Pitt star. He was a mess all season, leading to some struggles offensively. The accuracy was a major issue, and his pocket presence completely collapsed in his second season, leading to him spinning into pressure or running out of a clean pocket far too early, causing plays to break down.
It was rather telling that once Rudolph stepped into the lineup, the offense took off. There’s also the concerns with how Pickett handled himself while dealing with adversity this season, including skipping out on an end-of-season media session as a team captain.
It wouldn’t be wise for the Steelers to give up entirely on Pickett, considering the first-round pick invested in him in 2022 after all the work they did on him in the pre-draft process and then all of the public belief they stated they had in him over the last two seasons.
But they simply just can’t have him come back as the unquestioned starter in 2024. He’s done nothing to earn it in 25 career games, period.
Chances are, veteran backup Mitch Trubisky will be cut for the Steelers to become cap compliant, opening up a roster spot at the position. Rudolph is a free agent, too, and might not want to return to Pittsburgh after putting together a strong four-game run down the stretch that showed he’s a solid quarterback in the NFL and at the very least deserves a chance to compete for a starting job somewhere.
Therefore, the Steelers may have a major need to address at quarterback, whether that’s in the draft or in free agency.
Add in the age of the defense, which was one of the oldest in the NFL this season, and time is running out on potentially competing for a Super Bowl with the core defensively, featuring T.J. Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Cameron Heyward and Alex Highsmith. The time is now to win, and the Steelers know that.
Will they show that with aggressiveness at the quarterback position? Only time will tell. But things aren’t great with the Kenny Pickett situation.
