Pittsburgh Steelers fans who are anticipating the team making a big splash this offseason received a boost of hope on Friday with the news of the significantly increased salary cap for the 2024 season. However, fans will likely be disappointed to hear that the increase in salary cap probably won’t translate into a splash move being made at the quarterback position. That doesn’t mean the Steelers won’t address the position as the team only has Kenny Pickett under contract at the time of writing. One name that has been discussed is Tennessee Titans QB Ryan Tannehill, a pending free agent. Part of that is his time working with Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.
On Friday, Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network joined the Rich Eisen Show to talk about teams in the market for a quarterback and the Steelers came up.
“I personally find [it] hard to believe, Rich, that they’re gonna go out and sign Kirk Cousins for $50 million a year or trade for Russell Wilson,” Pelissero said. “They do want to get a competent and a good No. 2 backup plan. But everything I have understood about the Steelers’ approach here is they want to give Kenny Pickett a real opportunity with a different offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith, to go out there and show that he’s worthy of being the first-round pick that he was.
“So you could sign, let’s say, a Ryan Tannehill, he’s got a relationship with Arthur Smith. And I would certainly anticipate Arthur would like to get Ryan Tannehill in there to help Kenny Pickett learn as much as anything but also give himself a backup option. You can do that at a way more economical level than going out and making a trade.”
There’s a lot to unpack there. Perhaps things will be different on the Wilson front if he is cut by the Broncos as many believe will happen. Even former NFL WR Victor Cruz thinks that the Steelers will win the AFC North if they bring in Wilson. What seems certain is that the Steelers will not be offering up a trade haul to secure Wilson’s services.
As for the comments on Pickett, it mirrors exactly what head coach Mike Tomlin and team owner Art Rooney II have said since the end of the season. The highest decision-makers in the organization are not ready to write Pickett off yet and want to give him an opportunity with an offensive coordinator who has had success in the NFL before. We’ve highlighted some ways that Smith can put Pickett in advantageous positions because of the likelihood that this is the plan going forward.
What could be the most important part of Pelissero’s comments are his thoughts on Tannehill and Smith. There have been plenty of dots connected between the two since the Steelers hired Smith as offensive coordinator. It makes a lot of sense, too. Under Smith, Tannehill had his best two seasons as an NFL QB. It’s also unlikely that Tannehill will be going somewhere as a starter.
The Steelers could be a good spot for Tannehill, especially in terms of his familiarity with Smith. Then there’s the chance that if Pickett struggles, Tannehill could find himself back under center. For Smith, having a veteran quarterback he’s successfully worked with can help with implementing his offense. So a reunion makes a ton of sense from both sides. So if Smith wants Tannehill to come in as a backup as Pelissero says, there should be no problems there.
Now, Pelissero used the phrase “certainly anticipate” in regard to Smith wanting Tannehill in Pittsburgh. Does that make it a done deal? Absolutely not. Another team might want to bring Tannehill in for a legitimate competition to start. Or the money might not be right between the sides. Or the rest of the decision-makers in Pittsburgh might not want Tannehill for whatever reason. That being said, Gerry Dulac also thinks that Tannehill fits the mold of who the Steelers want to bring in. So don’t be surprised if Tannehill is on the Steelers’ roster heading into next season.
