Every day there seems to be a new rumor regarding the Pittsburgh Steelers, specifically at the quarterback position. Rumors have flown regarding both their 2024 options, Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. On Thursday, a report which has now been debunked claimed that the Steelers were involved in talks for Trevor Lawrence. Yet, there’s another potential option out there as well, in Matthew Stafford.
There’s been plenty of talk about the Los Angeles Rams trading Matthew Stafford or Cooper Kupp, or both. ESPN’s Evan Cohen believes the Steelers need to at least attempt to land Stafford.
“If I’m a Steelers fan, I want to hear them taking the biggest of swings that we’ve ever heard,” Cohen said on Unsportsmanlike on Friday. “I want them Luka Doncic-ing it at this point. Just ask for everyone and get turned down. If I don’t hear that the Steelers called about Matthew Stafford, and I’m a Steelers fan, I would be absolutely furious. I wanna know that they’re going after anyone they can possibly get their hands on.”
This isn’t the first time Cohen has floated a Stafford-Steelers pairing. He’s not alone in that either. The Rams seem destined to move on from Kupp, signaling that the franchise might be entering a retooling period. If that’s the case, and a team makes a good enough offer, there are good reasons for Los Angeles to move on from the 37-year-old quarterback.
Trading for Matthew Stafford would be a big swing. At least it would be compared to how Steelers have handled the position in recent memory. Last offseason, they brought in Wilson and Fields. Those weren’t daring moves in any sense. Each of those two had been written off by their former franchise. Neither were being seriously considered by the rest of the league, either.
It’s hard to blame those who want Pittsburgh to be more aggressive. One can admit that while the Steelers are consistently in difficult positions to find their quarterback of the future, they could still make much more of an effort to do so.
Trading for Matthew Stafford would accomplish that. There is the possibility Stafford doesn’t end up being moved at all. Still, by hearing about Pittsburgh even reaching out, fans might at least be somewhat satisfied that Pittsburgh is at least looking into other options at the position.
That’s part of the reason Thursday’s report regarding Lawrence blew up the way it did. There’s about a month until free agency begins, so all of this will begin to sort itself out soon.
