Since the end of the season the rumors surrounding how the Pittsburgh Steelers will move forward at quarterback has been never ending. Despite almost everyone in the Steelers organization publicly stating their support for QB Kenny Pickett, many different outlets have linked different quarterbacks with Pittsburgh. Recently, Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports played quarterback matchmaker and has the Steelers signing Ryan Tannehill in free agency.
“The Steelers are in an awkward position of wanting to give former first-rounder Kenny Pickett another audition while also knowing full well they can’t gloss over a Plan B,” wrote Benjamin. “A splashier upgrade, such as a trade for the dynamic Justin Fields, would be more invigorating. But Ryan Tannehill is precisely the kind of plug-and-play veteran for their predicament, providing immediate starting competition and/or premium insurance. He’s likely past his prime, more reliant on his setup than most, but in an old-school offense now run by old friend Arthur Smith, he might at least raise the ceiling of a notoriously sluggish wild-card contender.”
Tannehill would make sense given his connection to offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and the need for quarterbacks on the roster with only Pickett signed for next season. However, if Tannehill does sign he will not be gifted the starting role, instead likely competing for it. The big question is if he would be okay with this and if he would be willing to help Pickett.
The addition of Tannehill would be an upgrade over Pittsburgh’s previous backup, Mitchell Trubisky, and he has shown to be successful in Smith’s offensive system. In Tannehill’s two years with Smith as offensive coordinator Tannehill made his only Pro Bowl and threw for 6,561 yards, 55 touchdowns, and only 13 interceptions. In those two years, he also had the two highest yards per attempt in his career, with 9,6 in 2019 and 7.9 in 2020.
The main hope is for Smith to get Pickett to put up those numbers, but if Pickett still struggles next season having a back up like Tannehill who knows the system and has proven to be successful in it would be a luxury to have.
