Leading into the offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers were going to address the quarterback position one way or another. Turns out, they addressed it both via free agency and via trade.
In are veteran quarterback Russell Wilson and fourth-year quarterback Justin Fields. Out are quarterbacks Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph.
The Steelers feel pretty good with where they are in their quarterback room after signing Wilson to a one-year, $1.21 million deal in free agency and then trading a conditional sixth-round pick in 2025 to the Chicago Bears to acquire Fields. But even with all the moving and shaking the Steelers did in the offseason at the quarterback position, there is one name that they never made a play for, according to Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin.
Kirk Cousins.
Speaking to reporters Monday from the AFC coaches breakfast at the league’s Owners Meetings in Orlando, Tomlin stated that the Steelers never looked at Cousins in free agency, according to a tweet from ESPN’s Brooke Pryor, despite being heavily connected to him from a speculation standpoint all offseason.
It makes sense that the Steelers never looked at Cousins, considering the cost.
Cousins, who just turned 36 years old and is coming off of a torn Achilles, recently signed a four-year, $180 million deal with the Atlanta Falcons in free agency, including $100 million guaranteed. That was never going to be in the Steelers’ price range, period.
Though Cousins was the big fish on the market at the quarterback position and certainly would have been a great fit for the Steelers from a scheme standpoint with new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, the price tag on him never even allowed the conversation to get started.
While the Falcons spent big on Cousins hoping to fix the quarterback issues they’ve had and potentially push them into contender status right away, the Steelers went a different route. They took advantage of Wilson’s low price tag due to the financial situation coming out of Denver with the Broncos on the hook for more than $37 million in 2024 while taking a huge dead cap hit to make him play elsewhere.
Landing Wilson on the veteran minimum contract with him coming off of a 3,070-yard passing season with 26 touchdowns and just eight interceptions is a huge bargain for the Steelers. Landing Fields for just a conditional sixth-round pick in 2025 from the Bears via trade, was a steal, too.
Pittsburgh might not have gotten the biggest name on the market at the quarterback position but being smart financially paid off for the Black and Gold in the end.
