The Pittsburgh Steelers’ biggest question mark entering this offseason was the quarterback position. After Kenny Pickett showed no signs of growth in his second year and Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph provided barely average play at best and were unwatchable at worst, a change needed to be made. General Manager Omar Khan went out and signed Russell Wilson for pennies on the dollar. With Pickett subsequently being traded, Khan went out and traded a conditional late-round pick for a young but struggling player in Justin Fields. Khan proceeded to fill out the quarterback room by signing Kyle Allen, a career backup who has started in spots.
In a recent appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, Khan talked about the new-look quarterback room.
”It’s been awesome. Actually three, you know, Kyle Allen also, these guys are out there, watching them a little while ago working out. These guys, the team’s coming together, they’re gelling,” Khan said. “You know, Russ is an awesome person to have around there. Same with Justin and Kyle. Like, yeah, I’m really excited about that quarterback room and what the future holds for us this year.”
It appears that Khan has no intentions of adding any other new quarterbacks to the team after the Steelers signed John Rhys Plumlee as an undrafted free agent. Considering how welcoming Wilson has been to the players the Steelers added through the draft, as well as reports that leadership in the building is night and day different with Wilson and Fields compared to previous years, it seems that the Steelers did improve at quarterback at least in some capacity.
However, games aren’t played in the offseason, and when the bullets start flying, these new quarterbacks will really be tested. If Wilson struggles early, will he feel pressure behind him from Fields? If Fields can’t see the field because Wilson is playing well, will he become frustrated? Based on what Khan has said, it seems these questions might not matter, as it appears all three players are getting along well enough and working as a unit rather than individually.
For the Steelers to succeed this season, they need to make some noise in the playoffs, and that all starts at quarterback. Wilson or Fields may need to outgun the likes of Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes come playoff time, and putting in extra work together now will do nothing but help. Iron sharpens iron, as Mike Tomlin likes to say. Fans can only hope that the blade is sharp enough when the season starts.
