The quarterback discussion surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers and potential additions they could make to their roster isn’t going to slow down anytime soon.
In fact, with the NFL Scouting Combine right around the corner, things are going to go into overdrive regarding the conversation with a number of names being connected to the Black and Gold by the national media.
One such name that is starting to gain steam is Jimmy Garoppolo of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Though Garoppolo will serve a two-game suspension to open the season due to violating the league’s performance enhancing policy, the veteran quarterback is expected to be cut loose by the Raiders, putting him back on the market.
In a piece for The Athletic Friday morning, Raiders beat writer Vic Tafur highlighted the Steelers as one of nine potential landing spots for Garoppolo, along with the New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons, Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders and New York Jets.
“It sure seems like Justin Fields will be moving to Pittsburgh or Atlanta, but in case the Steelers don’t want to trade for the Chicago Bears’ hand-me-down, have we got an attractive, cheap option for them,” Tafur writes regarding the Steelers and Garoppolo. “Is he better than Kenny Pickett? Maybe.”
Though the Steelers have been tied pretty heavily to Fields so far this offseason, it still seems rather unlikely that they would trade for him due to financial implications and what it would mean in the quarterback room with Kenny Pickett, right or wrong.
Therefore, it seems like the Steelers are going to add a veteran free agent who could serve as a solid backup and could even push Pickett for playing time in the right situation. Names like Mason Rudolph, Ryan Tannehill and Jacoby Brissett make sense in that conversation. Honestly, Garoppolo does, too.
Garoppolo will be 33 years old in November and has plenty of experience under his belt, having started 63 career games, playing in 81 overall. In his career, Garoppolo has thrown for 15,494 yards, 94 touchdowns and 51 interceptions, once helping lead the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl under head coach Kyle Shanahan.
In his 10-year career, Garoppolo is 43-20 as a starter and has had some intriguing highs but more recently some concerning lows.
He’d be relatively cheap as a free agent after getting dumped by Las Vegas after one season, so he’s certainly a name to keep an eye on. It wouldn’t move the needle all that much, but he’s in line with those other names that make the most sense for the Steelers at the quarterback position, based on what the franchise has said publicly about Pickett this offseason.
