Patrick Peterson, assuming he remains a Pittsburgh Steeler, welcomes QB Ryan Tannehill to the team with open arms. But he made clear it’d be as a backup, not a starter. Appearing on the latest episode of the All Things Covered Podcast, Peterson said reuniting Tannehill with new Steelers’ OC Arthur Smith would be wise. But even if Tannehill signs, this is a Kenny Pickett-led team.
“I think it’d be great because he’s a guy who’s been in the system who understands the system,” Peterson said. “But also we gotta remember that that comment that Ryan Tannehill made a couple years ago. Drafted [Malik Willis] about mentoring, willing to come there and to be a mentor. You have to understand if you are coming into this situation, that Kenny Pickett is the guy.”
Lots to unpack there. Tannehill had his two best NFL seasons under Arthur Smith, who served as his offensive coordinator with the Tennessee Titans in 2019 and 2020. A first round bust in Miami, Tannehill became Comeback Player of the Year in 2019, throwing 55 touchdowns in two seasons with Smith, and the Titans making the playoffs both times.
Now 36, he’s on his way out of Tennessee. With repeated ankle injuries and the emergence of Will Levis, Tannehill won’t be back for another season. Pittsburgh’s in need of a veteran quarterback and if they can’t retain Mason Rudolph, signing Tannehill is the next logical option.
As Peterson referenced, Tannehill caused waves in the summer of 2022 when asked about mentoring third-round rookie Malik Willis. Tannehill brushed aside the idea, noting his job was to be the starting quarterback, not help someone replace him.
“We’re competing against each other, we’re watching the same tape, we’re doing the same drills,” Tannehill said via Sports Illustrated about Willis in May of 2022. “I don’t think it’s my job to mentor him, but if he learns from me along the way, then that’s a great thing.”
Some understood Tannehill’s position. Others thought it was too critical of a new teammate. Ultimately, Willis proved to be of little threat, struggling to make the jump from Liberty to the NFL, and Tannehill kept his job. But when the Titans traded up for Levis in the second round of the 2023 draft, it became clear Tannehill was on borrowed time. After injuring his ankle, Levis became the starter, impressed, and remained in the lineup once Tannehill recovered. However, Tannehill finished out the year as the team’s starter, leading an upset win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 18 that vaulted Pittsburgh into the playoffs.
During Mike Tomlin’s year-end press conference, he framed Pickett as the current starter but a desire for training camp competition with a veteran. Peterson’s comments go a different direction. Whether he inferred it or has been told it by someone inside the building, Pickett’s in the driver’s seat to be the Steelers’ 2024 Week One starter. Pittsburgh has every incentive and reason for Pickett to start, one final evaluation year under a new coordinator, in the hopes of turning his career around and proving his first round investment.
After making that comment, McFadden intervened and tried to frame it as a hypothetical competition between Tannehill and Pickett. Peterson than backed off his comment.
“I agree that it will be a competition,” Peterson pivoted to. “If there’s going to, I’m still in the league. I don’t wanna say nothing. I don’t, I shouldn’t be. So if there is a competition…” Peterson said before taking a long pause that caused McFadden to fill the dead air.
McFadden then pressed Peterson for more detail. He declined.
“I ain’t gonna say what I want to say. I ain’t gonna do it.”
It seems obvious that Peterson is implying there may be the framework of a competition but that Pickett will probably be the starter. A similar scenario to 2022 when the Steelers touted a competition between Mitch Trubisky, Mason Rudolph, and Pickett. But it was always Trubisky’s job to lose and he entered the year as the starter with Pickett passing Rudolph for the No. 2 spot.
Even if Pickett would have to be a disaster to not open the year starting, Tannehill coming to Pittsburgh is arguably his best option. He won’t receive clear-cut starting looks anywhere else in the NFL. Not in a year with so many veteran quarterbacks available and a strong draft class. Going to Pittsburgh, reuniting with Smith, and seeing if Pickett can hold the job the entire year is his best bet.
Performance aside, Pickett has struggled to stay healthy his first two years in the league. If Tannehill is the backup, odds are good he’ll see significant playing time at some point during the year. And if he plays well, he could keep the job and close the book on Pickett’s future.
Catch the whole conversation below.
