Buy Or Sell: The Steelers have no interest in adding an outside veteran starting quarterback.
Explanation: Listening to the national media about the Steelers’ interest in quarterback options proves very different from local coverage. The national press is consistently more confident Pittsburgh could make bold gestures. At various points in the offseason, for example, Russell Wilson, Kirk Cousins, and especially Justin Fields have all rested in the organization’s crosshairs, or so they claim. But is there any truth to all these reports?
Buy:
No. One thousand times no. The Steelers have consistently said they believe in Kenny Pickett. They fired offensive coordinator Matt Canada last year in part to get a look at Pickett without him. His ankle injury robbed them of that chance. Not only because they invested a first-round pick in him, they need to find out who he is.
You can’t add a Russell Wilson or a Kirk Cousins or a Justin Fields and hold a quarterback competition. None of those players set foot inside the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex thinking they’re sitting behind Pickett. They are starters or they are not Steelers, plain and simple. The Steelers knows this as well as they do, which is why they have no interest in that arrangement.
Pittsburgh is signing a veteran quarterback, yes, but the names are more like Mason Rudolph and Ryan Tannehill. They are looking for a challenger for Pickett, not a usurper. And it’s not about Pickett lacking the ability to beat them out. You simply can’t acquire such players without assurances they are starting. It’s a non-starter for these starters.
Sell:
Listening to the Steelers exclusively is just as unreliable as relying upon any other one source of information. Like everybody else, the Steelers tell you what they want you do know and leave out the rest. General Omar Khan acknowledged they’d made or fielded phone calls.
We know they liked Justin Fields a lot coming out of college. Even local beat writers acknowledge he still retains large support in the building. Gerry Dulac of all people left the door open as a possibility even while framing it as unlikely.
But if it’s unlikely, that means they have some level of interest. The question is how much. Do they balk at the cost of trading for him, or do they feel obligated to Kenny Pickett this year? Even though adding one of these big-name quarterbacks is very unlikely, that’s not to say they haven’t at least explored the possibility with some degree of seriousness.
With the Steelers’ 2023 season in the rearview mirror following a disappointing year that came up short in the playoffs once again, it’s time to start asking more questions. Questions about the team’s future in 2024 and beyond. Questions about The Standard.
The rookie class of a year ago was on the whole impressive, but they need to step up into staple starters in 2024. And they likely need a strong influx of talent in both free agency and in the 2024 NFL draft yet again. In addition to a revisitation of the coaching staff.
These sorts of uncertainties are what I will look to address in our Buy or Sell series. In each installment, I will introduce a topic statement and weigh some of the arguments for either buying it (meaning that you agree with it or expect it to be true) or selling it (meaning you disagree with it or expect it to be false).
