Coming off a 2023 season in which quarterback Kenny Pickett took a major step back, Mitch Trubisky was, well, Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph was the only saving grace late in the season after coming off the bench two years since his last appearance, the Pittsburgh Steelers set out to correct the problems in the QB room.
Brought in were the likes of veteran Russell Wilson in free agency and Justin Fields via trade. Trubisky was released, Rudolph signed with the Tennessee Titans as a free agent, and Pickett was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles.
On paper, the Steelers are in much better shape at QB than they have been since the final seasons of the Ben Roethlisberger Era.
Wilson is an accomplished veteran with a Hall of Fame resume while Fields is the exact type of QB you bet on with his traits and overall athleticism.
Yet for ESPN’s Dan Graziano, he is unsure why anyone believes that the Steelers will get better QB play this season than they did a year ago.
Appearing on ESPN’s Get Up Friday morning, Graziano was baffled by the question.
“No, I don’t know why we would assume that [better QB play]. These are both flawed players and that’s why they got them for the prices they did,” Graziano said of the Steelers’ QB situation, according to video via ESPN. “They made the playoffs last year starting Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph at quarterback; Mike Tomlin is good at his job. And if he makes this decision, we have to give him the benefit of the doubt that it’s the right one. But I do think if the Steelers win games this year, it’ll be because their defense, because of their running game. I don’t think they have much at wide receiver. Obviously, [George] Pickens, but otherwise it is not great. And then at quarterback, two big question marks.
“So to me, Fields gives you more upside. If you want to be a running team then having a quarterback that can run like that just gives you so much more you can do with that run game. I feel like that’s probably the right way to go, but I don’t think it’s the way they’re gonna go.”
Considering how Pickett and Trubisky performed last season for the Steelers, and how Wilson and Fields performed in their respective situations last season in Denver and Chicago, it’s an absurd stance from Graziano to question if the Steelers will get better QB play.
Pickett was one of the worst quarterbacks in football last season, one who struggled with accuracy and simply could not produce points. In a pass-first league in today’s NFL, Pittsburgh was inept at scoring points and was in a very bad group of struggling passers from a historic perspective.
At one point last season, Pickett had just 13 touchdown passes in his career in 680 passing attempts. That gave him a touchdown percentage of just 1.91%, which, according to Pro Football Reference, made him one of one in NFL history. That put Pickett as a QB in NFL history who had attempted at least 500 passes and had that low of a TD percentage, placing him behind the likes of Gary Huff, Chris Weinke, DeShone Kizer, and Ryan Leaf.
Not great company.
Trubisky, once in the lineup due to Pickett’s injury, was a turnover machine and was somehow worse than Pickett. That ultimately led to head coach Mike Tomlin turning to Rudolph, who went on a run, helping the Steelers get into the playoffs.
Will the Steelers get better QB play from Wilson and/or Fields compared to Pickett and Trubisky? That’s an easy yes. There is no doubt.
As far as the play from Rudolph in the final four games of the season? That is where you could have a debate. But there is absolutely no doubt the Steelers are better under center than they have been, and it helps that they have a competent offensive coordinator in Arthur Smith in charge, one who brings an offensive scheme that fits the modern game.
