The Pittsburgh Steelers turned over nearly the entirety of their inside linebacker room last offseason, leaving only Mark Robinson standing. A year later, in shocking fashion, they’ve done the same with the quarterback room.
They released backup Mitch Trubisky early on and later allowed Mason Rudolph to walk in free agency. Now they’ve traded 24-game starter Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles for the equivalent of about a fourth-round pick.
After all, this is the same quarterback room that produced the second-fewest touchdown passes over the past two seasons. Just 25 in that span, fewer than any other team—13 from Pickett, eight from Trubisky, three from Rudolph. And one from Chase Claypool- let’s not forget about that one, to FB Derek Watt, no less.
The Steelers’ grand plan to succeed Ben Roethlisberger crashed and burned, failing miserably with three strikes and one thunderous out. In 2021, they signed Rudolph to a one-year extension to keep him under contract for the first year without Roethlisberger as step one.
Prior to Dwayne Haskins’ untimely passing, they proceeded to sign Trubisky on a two-year, $14 million contract. He came in with the potential of serving as a bridge starter, but that bridge only held for four games. By then, head coach Mike Tomlin yanked him (not for the last time), putting in rookie first-round selection Pickett.
And so they’ll have a completely different quarterback room from the year before, barring a surprise development. The last time the Steelers did so, according to Brooke Pryor, was in 1957. They carried Ted Marchibroda and Jack Scarbath in 1956 before bringing in Earl Morrall, Len Dawson, and Jack Kemp.
For all the handwringing, the Steelers still managed to go on a 14-6 run at one point. They finished the 2022 regular season 7-2 and began 2023 7-4. Pickett started nearly all of those games, missing just one due to a concussion.
It’s a pretty remarkable run to consider in hindsight, but the run game and defense deserve far more credit. The coaching staff and front office recognized that, which is why that quarterback room is now gone.
Of course, we have to wait and see what comes next. We know that Russell Wilson is here, and only a shocking turn of events prevents him from starting. The Steelers finally managed to wrangle Justin Fields from the Chicago Bears for a pastrami sandwich and an IOU. But who else do they add?
The obvious target is Ryan Tannehill, whom offensive coordinator Arthur Smith worked with to great success with the Tennessee Titans. Otherwise, they could consider yet another reunion with Joshua Dobbs. Failing that, they may draft their next quarterback, but how early? Is an early Day-Three pick on somebody like Spencer Rattler too much?
Imagine a one-year turnover of Pickett-Trubisky-Rudolph to Wilson-Fields-Tannehill. We’re already most of the way there. And the previous tenants of that quarterback room are now all in new spots as backups. Trubisky is back behind Josh Allen in Buffalo, while Pickett got the brotherly shove out to Philly behind Jalen Hurts. As for Rudolph, he may stand the best chance, sitting behind second-year Will Levis. But that’s not the Steelers’ concern any longer.
