Since the retirement of future Hall of Fame quarterback Ben Roethlisberger following the 2021 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers have had more questions than answers at the quarterback position.
Names like Mitch Trubisky, Mason Rudolph, and Kenny Pickett have come and gone over the last two seasons. Now, the likes of Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, and Kyle Allen headline the quarterback room, which underwent a significant makeover this offseason.
On paper, at least, the Steelers appear to be in a better spot at the position, thanks to the work of GM Omar Khan. But they don’t play the games on paper.
For NFL.com analyst Nick Shook, the biggest question for the Steelers, even after a busy offseason, remains: is the rebuilt quarterback room good enough to answer some questions under center?
“Honestly, this question could be distilled down to a simpler query: Will Russell Wilson or Justin Fields be under center in Week 1? The Steelers deserve credit for admitting defeat at the position and aggressively revamping the depth chart this offseason, topped off by GM Omar Khan’s decision to send Kenny Pickett to Philadelphia and swing a deal for Fields less than 24 hours later. But now, they must determine how to proceed,” Shook writes regarding the rebuilt Steelers’ QB room. “Most believe it will be Wilson starting camp as the presumptive QB1, but if Wilson’s last few years are any indicator, he’s not guaranteed to hold onto that job forever. Because Fields is entering the final year of his rookie deal, there’s also incentive to get him on the field at some point this fall.
“It would truly be a delight to see Fields enjoy success in Pittsburgh, especially after what he went through in Chicago. But with Wilson also on the roster, I tend to expect Mike Tomlin to prefer the veteran to start. Regardless, I’m sure the situation will be a headline magnet for months — and could determine Pittsburgh’s fate in 2024.”
The Steelers’ quarterback position has been a headline magnet—and will remain so for the foreseeable future. It’s all anyone seems to be talking about before the NFL Draft.
Will it be Fields? Will it be Wilson? How will it look?
Those are the biggest questions that won’t be answered until football starts up in July at training camp, leading into the preseason and then the regular season.
But make no mistake about it: the Steelers are better off now in the quarterback room than they have been the last two seasons from a mobility, arm strength, and high-end traits standpoint.
Questions will remain all season, though, at least until one of Wilson or Fields — maybe even both — puts an end to them with their play, one way or another. Right now, the excitement surrounding the reshaped quarterback room is high. Expectations seem relatively high from a team perspective, too, as the Steelers won 10 games last season, with the likes of Pickett, Trubisky, and Rudolph taking significant snaps and the defense decimated by injuries.
With Wilson and Fields in the fold now, the quarterback situation looks much, much better, which should be nothing but a positive for Pittsburgh.
But that’s why they play the games.
The quarterback room is going to be talked about ad nauseam from now until the start of training camp and will only ramp up once the team hits the field at Latrobe for training camp.
This year, though, the Steelers at least seem poised to have the right guys in place to answer some of those big questions under center for a team that aims to compete for a Super Bowl.
