The Pittsburgh Steelers have a decision to make regarding their starting quarterback and whether or not to stick with Kenny Pickett, but everything the team has said made it seems like Pickett will be Pittsburgh’s QB1 next season. Former NFL general manager Rick Spielman thinks the Steelers are “all-in” on Kenny Pickett.
“They’re all-in on Kenny Pickett. So don’t expect the Pittsburgh Steelers to go up and trade for one of the big three quarterbacks in this draft or be very active in free agency, signing a Kirk Cousins or maybe trading for Justin Fields. I think they’re going to go with Kenny Pickett, see if they can develop under Arthur Smith in this power-style offense that the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to run,” Spielman said via The 33rd Team.
Spielman also suggests the Steelers upgrade the receiver room by adding either Cincinnati Bengals WR Tyler Boyd or New England Patriots WR Kendrick Bourne in free agency. As we’ve detailed, the third receiver in Arthur Smith’s offense typically isn’t a high-volume receiver so it would be a surprise if Pittsburgh went out and spent money in free agency to add someone like Boyd or Bourne. But the idea of sticking with Pickett is something that could very well come to fruition.
It would be a major surprise if the Steelers went after a free agent like Cousins or Russell Wilson, and it makes more sense for the team to re-sign Mason Rudolph or bring in Ryan Tannehill as a veteran who are fine backing up but can also compete with Pickett as the starter. It’s far and away the most likely outcome this offseason, and it also wouldn’t be a surprise if the team did draft a rookie in the middle rounds, particularly with one of their two fourth-round picks.
Arthur Smith’s hiring at offensive coordinator is a sign that the Steelers want to continue to be a team that relies on their ground game, but Smith was also able to get the most out of Tannehill during their time in Tennessee. While the Steelers offense is going to be reliant on the success of Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, if Smith is able to get Pickett to turn his career around after two subpar seasons, of which all but a game and a half was spent with Matt Canada as his offensive coordinator, I think he could be a good option.
The only problem is we just haven’t seen it yet from Pickett, and a lot of his issues, like his lack of pocket awareness at time, don’t necessarily stem from Canada. So while I think it’s likely that the team does stick with Pickett, he’s going to have a short leash if they’re able to bring back Rudolph or bring in a Tannehill-esque quarterback as his backup.
