The Pittsburgh Steelers have a quarterback problem. They don’t know who their starting quarterback will be in 2025. Will it be Russell Wilson or Justin Fields? Or will it be someone else?
But Colin Cowherd thinks the Steelers might have another quarterback problem. Not in-house, but in their division. He thinks Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders could be the latest AFC North quarterback to give the Steelers fits.
“If Cleveland lands Shedeur Sanders, who is a pocket quarterback, with Kevin Stefanski, who is a pocket quarterback coach, more than he is a mobile quarterback, then I think that’s trouble,” said Cowherd on Tuesday’s episode of The Herd with Colin Cowherd. “Again, I don’t want to make it sound like Justin and Russell can’t play… If the Browns get either Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders, and they’re both franchise quarterbacks, then you’re the only franchise, Lamar, Shedeur, Joe Burrow…”
Even with Cowherd trailing off, he’s making a salient point about the state of the AFC North and how the Steelers fit into the picture. The Baltimore Ravens have Lamar Jackson. The Cincinnati Bengals have Joe Burrow. And the Browns, in this situation, have a young quarterback they believe will be their franchise cornerstone.
Sanders only played quarterback at the college level for two years. But he finished his career at Colorado, completing 71.8 percent of his passes while averaging 8.1 yards per attempt. He threw for 64 touchdowns to only 13 interceptions. He also led all of FBS with a 74 percent completion percentage in 2024. He led the Big 12 in completions, attempts, yards, yards per attempt, yards per game, and touchdowns in 2024. He was stellar at Colorado, which is why many people are keeping an eye on him at the top of the draft. And that puts him squarely out of the running for Pittsburgh, sitting at 21.
Unless the Steelers take a big swing, they would be the only team in the AFC North that doesn’t believe they have a long-term plan in place at quarterback. And that’s a bad place to be. And that problem extends beyond the AFC North, really. The entire AFC is full of teams that believe they have their franchise quarterback.
Cowherd himself has pushed the idea that the Steelers need to take that big swing. He’s previously said the Steelers should trade whatever it takes, including LB T.J. Watt and multiple first-round picks, to move up to get Shedeur Sanders. And now he believes that the Steelers will have a big problem on their hands if Sanders ends up in Cleveland.
Obviously, the history of the NFL is littered with promising young quarterbacks who never panned out. That’s exactly what could happen if the Browns take Sanders. But to mix my sports for a second, it’s a lot better to take a swing and miss (or hit a long flyout) than for the bat to never leave your shoulder.
Right now, it certainly feels like the Steelers aren’t stepping up to the plate and taking some good swings of the bat at the quarterback problem. It feels a bit more like bunting at this point. And Cowherd thinks that if the Browns take a swing on Sanders, that will be trouble for the Steelers.
