Following a 10-7 season that came to a crashing halt in the AFC Wild Card Round against the Buffalo Bills, the Pittsburgh Steelers now enter a pivotal offseason for the future of the franchise.
Head coach Mike Tomlin is expected to get an extension in the near future, locking him into the Steelers for the foreseeable future, so stability will still be there at the top.
But despite going 10-7 and reaching the playoffs, Pittsburgh has a major question mark at quarterback.
On Thursday during his year-end press conference, Tomlin stated that quarterback Kenny Pickett, despite a poor second season that saw him deal with a number of injuries and ultimately lose his starting job to Mason Rudolph late in the season even after recovering from injury, is the QB1 entering the offseason.
However, Tomlin stated that Pickett will have competition for the starting job, whether that’s a veteran brought in via free agency, a potential re-signing of Rudolph, or a draft pick.
Though Tomlin added that he believes the Steelers’ starting quarterback in 2024 is currently on the roster, the Steelers are in a precarious spot. For NFL.com’s Nick Shook, the Steelers are in the danger zone at quarterback: purgatory.
“Year 2 did not go as planned for Kenny Pickett, with Mike Tomlin ultimately choosing longtime backup Mason Rudolph over a healthy Pickett in the Steelers’ desperate final weeks,” Shook writes regarding the Steelers’ quarterback situation. “Rudolph got the team to the playoffs, adding some uncertainty about how Pittsburgh might proceed under center in 2024. Is Pickett still the future? Will he have to fight for the job in training camp?
“Might the Steelers already have their eye on options existing outside of the facility? Or was this all since-fired offensive coordinator Matt Canada’s fault?”
There are so many questions at the most important position in sports for Pittsburgh moving forward. It’s not a comforting feeling whatsoever.
Pickett had a poor season overall after entering Year Two with high expectations. He struggled with accuracy, pocket presence and really just looked completely out of sorts. He was good in the six quarters post-Canada against the Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals, but it was quite telling that Tomlin and the Steelers didn’t hand him the ball back after recovering from his ankle injury.
The Steelers and Tomlin made it clear Thursday that they want Rudolph back, too, which was also rather telling. The veteran was prepared for his moment late in the season, stepped up to the plate and delivered. He gave the offense a jolt, and it was quite eye-opening how much better and functional the offense looked with him under center.
Despite the strong play from Rudolph and the public belief that Tomlin expressed for Pickett Thursday, the Steelers are in a tough spot. On paper, both Pickett and Rudolph don’t look like the ideal answers at the position. The Steelers also aren’t in a position to swing big and chase a Kirk Cousins, Russell Wilson or Baker Mayfield in free agency, let alone trade for Justin Fields.
That’s why they are in the danger zone at the position.
We’ll see who the new offensive coordinator is for the Steelers entering 2024. That hire is pivotal, one that could shape the franchise quite a bit moving forward if they can get the best out of Pickett and get him to the level the Steelers believed he could get to at when they drafted him. Or it could be back to square one at the quarterback position in 2025.
Dangerous times, indeed.
