After playing against his Baltimore Ravens for a decade and losing to him versus the Indianapolis Colts in 2024, the Pittsburgh Steelers could opt to sign QB Joe Flacco if only to prevent him from winning against them. Reporting on Flacco’s future, Sportskeeda’s Tony Pauline suggested Flacco could be on the Steelers’ list this offseason.
“I’m told keep an eye on the San Francisco 49ers, Pittsburgh Steelers, and New England Patriots as suitors for Flacco this offseason, as all would look for a veteran backup,” Pauline wrote.
It’s not clear if his source is simply connecting the dots or something more. Assuming that Pittsburgh is unable to re-sign QBs Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, they’ll be looking for backup help. Third-stringer Kyle Allen is also slated to hit free agency.
The Steelers have valued backups with plenty of Sunday experience. In 2023, their quarterback room all had such a resume. Mitch Trubisky, Kenny Pickett, and Mason Rudolph all had started many games. In 2024, they had Wilson, Fields, and Allen, none of the three new to playing games. In both seasons, all three quarterbacks on the roster saw in-game action.
Per Pauline, Flacco intends to play into 2025. A free agent for most of 2023 who looked close to falling out of the league, the Cleveland Browns signed him late in the year and he helped lead the team to the postseason before falling apart in a Wild Card loss to the Houston Texans. He signed with the Indianapolis Colts this past year, starting six games while Anthony Richardson dealt with injuries and poor performance. Under Flacco, the Colts went just 2-4, throwing 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
But he came off the bench early in Week 4 against the Steelers, replacing an injured Richardson and carving up a Pittsburgh defense implementing a game plan to stop the run-minded Richardson. Flacco went 16-of-26 for 168-yards and two touchdowns in a 27-24 Colts win.
After the game, Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin admitted his team took too long to adjust.
“When you work all week to defend Richardson and then you get Flacco, it’s a little bit different and it probably took us a little too long to adapt and adjust in some areas,” Tomlin said post-game.
For his career, Flacco has played 22 regular season games against Pittsburgh. With an 11-11 record, he’s thrown for more than 5,000-yards and 27 touchdowns against them.
Pittsburgh enters another offseason with plenty of offseason questions at quarterback. Just like 2024, the room could look different than it did the year prior. This time, it might include Joe Flacco.
