It has been a very active offseason so far for the Pittsburgh Steelers as general manager Omar Khan has been uber-aggressive in overhauling the quarterback position. Khan completely changed the quarterback room, releasing QB Mitchell Trubisky, letting Mason Rudolph walk in free agency, and trading Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles. To add to the room, Khan signed former Denver Broncos QB Russell Wilson and traded for Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields, which has unanimously seen as a massive upgrade throughout NFL circles.
Pittsburgh’s quarterback moves this season have many believing, including Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski, who listed Pittsburgh as one of five NFL teams capable of winning their division after their free agent signings.
“To the Steelers’ credit, they didn’t allow themselves to fall victim to the sunk-cost fallacy,” wrote Sobleski. “The franchise that’s famous for its loyalty to players gave up on Kenny Pickett much sooner than anyone expected. Pittsburgh saw a low-risk, high-reward opportunity become available with an established veteran quarterback in Russell Wilson and took it. Wilson may not be the caliber of player he once was with the Seattle Seahawks, but he’s still a superior option compared to anything Pittsburgh had at quarterback over the last two seasons. The addition of Justin Fields for a conditional 2025 sixth-round pick is merely icing on the cake.”
With Wilson expected to be the starter this season, Pittsburgh will have a quarterback who can put the ball in the end zone. In his two seasons as a quarterback for the Steelers, Pickett only threw 13 touchdowns as the Steelers struggled to score points. While there are multiple ways to score, in the modern NFL, you need your quarterback to throw touchdowns, and Pickett did not do that at a high clip. Wilson, on the other hand, did, throwing 26 last season alone. While Wilson certainly has his flaws, he can put the ball in the end zone, and with a defense that, when healthy, is borderline elite, that can be the difference between wins and losses.
On the defensive side of the football, Khan addressed some of Pittsburgh’s needs there as well, signing former Baltimore Ravens LB Patrick Queen to shore up the middle of the field, signing S DeShon Elliott, and trading for CB Donte Jackson.
Sobleski was a fan of the Queen and Elliott moves, but in particular, praised the Steelers for the Queen signing as their middle linebacker room has been mediocre at best for some time now.
“Pittsburgh’s inside linebackers haven’t been particularly good for some time,” wrote Sobleski. “Elandon Roberts improved the situation last season, but the three-year, $41 million free-agent signing of Patrick Queen will provide the Steelers with a true every-down, off-ball linebacker. His skill set perfectly complements Roberts, who is far better playing downhill. At safety, DeShon Elliott joins the Steelers secondary to provide a better option alongside Minkah Fitzpatrick.”
At only 24 years old, Queen still has plenty of room to grow and is coming off two of his best seasons as a pro. Last season, Queen was a Pro Bowler and was selected to the Second Team All-Pro by the Associated Press. His athleticism is his calling card and he is a strong run defender who can also hold his own against the pass for a middle linebacker.
Elliott is a versatile safety who can move around the defense if needed. Elliott considers himself primarily a strong safety playing up in the box, which could let Fitzpatrick shift back to his ball-hawking free safety position, which he has proved to be elite at over his seven-year career.
The offseason is the offseason, and there is still so much time before real games get played, but Pittsburgh made notable improvements already this offseason as they attempt to win a playoff game and get back to the Super Bowl. The Steelers still need help at wide receiver and center, which they have to address if they want to compete for a division championship, but there is time for that. Khan has shown he won’t let needs go unaddressed, so at some point, the Steelers will tackle those needs. It will be interesting to see if Khan has another trade up his sleeve or if the Steelers will be using a lot of their draft picks on the offensive side of the ball.
