With the Pittsburgh Steelers losing five straight games and exiting the playoffs with a Wild Card round loss, the team’s fifth straight one-and-done playoff appearance, there’s an idea that the team is stuck in NFL purgatory. The Steelers haven’t figured out their quarterback situation, and they haven’t drafted high enough to get a top-tier quarterback in the draft. Despite their recent playoff futility, Mike Tomlin said he doesn’t feel that the team is stuck.
“I don’t know that I’ve looked at it from that perspective. I’m certainly disappointed that I’m not working to prepare to play this week, and I’ve certainly felt that in recent years. But stuck is kind of a helpless feeling, and I don’t know that I feel helpless,” Tomlin said Tuesday via the team’s YouTube channel.
While Tomlin said he doesn’t feel hopeless, he said it’s also not appropriate to be optimistic and try to sell optimism after Pittsburgh’s end-of-season collapse.
“I don’t know that I’m ready to be overly optimistic or sell optimism to you, either. I’m just acknowledging what has transpired and what has to happen and what is beginning to happen and acknowledging the complexity and the amount of work that’s ahead of us. Certainly feel capable but definitely [don’t] feel in the mood for optimism or the selling of optimism. I don’t know that that’s appropriate.”
The Steelers certainly feel like they are in a rut. They turned over their quarterback room by acquiring Russell Wilson and Justin Fields and hired Arthur Smith as their offensive coordinator, signed Patrick Queen to the richest outside free agent contract in team history, and yet still finished 10-7 with a Wild Card Round playoff loss. Their roster was one of their best on paper in recent seasons, but the end-of-season result remained the same despite a 10-3 start.
There’s going to be change this offseason, and change can sometimes bring hope. The change won’t start with Tomlin, who is expected to remain with the Steelers in 2025, but it could involve assistant coaches and at some of the most important positions, including quarterback, as both Fields and Wilson are set to be free agents this offseason. Tomlin said the Steelers are exploring all avenues when it comes to quarterback, and if they feel like they can upgrade over what they had this season, they likely will.
Finding a viable starting quarterback is their quickest path to becoming a team that can compete for Super Bowls again, but Steelers really have to show that they can win a playoff game. Things aren’t completely hopeless, but it’s fair to argue that the Steelers are indeed stuck after eight straight seasons without a playoff win, even if Tomlin doesn’t feel helpless as it stands right now. This offseason will be pivotal to see what changes the Steelers make and if they can inject some life into a franchise that just hasn’t had enough success lately.
