So far this offseason, much of the noise surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers has centered on the quarterback position, unsurprisingly.
After the Kenny Pickett’s struggles in Year 2, a new offensive coordinator hired in Arthur Smith, and veteran quarterback Mason Rudolph hitting free agency after a strong final four games of the season, the focus has been on the quarterback situation in the Steel City.
Names like Russell Wilson, Ryan Tannehill, and Justin Fields — among others — have been connected to the Steelers one way or another. However, key decision makers in team owner Art Rooney II, head coach Mike Tomlin and GM Omar Khan have expressed full faith in Pickett moving forward as a franchise quarterback.
Something’s got to give at the position, whether it’s the Steelers trading for Fields or signing Wilson or Tannehill in free agency.
For Pro Football Focus’ Gordon McGuiness, in a piece for PFF.com Friday morning, the Steelers have to have another option at QB to compete with Pickett in 2024. If the Steelers come out of the 2024 NFL Draft cycle without another option to compete against Pickett, that’s the worst-case scenario for the Steelers in the offseason.
“The noise out of Pittsburgh seems to be that they are happy with Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph, who earned PFF passing grades of 68.8 and 64.8, respectively, at quarterback in 2024,” PFF’s McGuinness writes. “It’s hard to believe that they won’t add to the position before the end of the draft, though, whether that means taking a player to develop in the top 100, adding a free agent or trading for a player like Justin Fields.”
The Steelers are going to add a quarterback or two this offseason, period.
They like to carry four quarterbacks on the roster in the offseason and then three into the regular season. Currently, the Steelers have one quarterback under contract. That’s Pickett.
So, they have to add.
One of those additions will likely come through free agency, whether that’s re-signing Rudolph after his impressive run late in the season or signing the likes of Wilson or Tannehill. The Steelers will reportedly have a meeting with Wilson in the days ahead as there is a mutual interest between the two in a pairing.
Chances are, the Steelers will also draft a quarterback at some point in the 2024 NFL Draft as a developmental piece, someone like Florida State’s Jordan Travis.
The worst-case scenario would be if the Steelers come out of the offseason with no true competition for Pickett, turning to someone like Marcus Mariota at quarterback due to the familiarity with Arthur Smith. But based on everything the Steelers have said and done so far this offseason, that’s not going to happen.
Competition will be brought in, and Pickett will be pushed.
