The Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves in a perpetual cycle at the quarterback position, stuck in mediocrity since the twilight of Ben Roethlisberger’s career. There doesn’t appear to be a clear way out of it, at least for the time being.
But, for ESPN’s Kevin Clark, there’s one way for the Black and Gold to end the cycle under head coach Mike Tomlin and GM Omar Khan. That’s swing big and trade for Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford.
Appearing on ESPN’s Unsportsmanlike Friday morning, Clark stated that the Steelers made an “original sin” by drafting Kenny Pickett, and that they need to stop trying to paper over things at the most important position in sports and make a big move by trading for Stafford.
“So for the Steelers, the defense is ready to win. Now they’ve got weapons. Let’s assume George Pickens stays in the situation and is happy and healthy and all that stuff. The line, especially the tackles, needs work. But I think they’re right there. And I think that if the Steelers are ever gonna take a big swing, it would be this, it would be to extend their window,” Clark said of the Steelers needing to trade for Stafford, according to audio via ESPN Radio. “I don’t want to keep playing games with the quarterback position. If I’m the Steelers, I don’t wanna keep shopping in the bargain bin every single year.”
Though the Steelers fell apart defensively late in the 2024 season in the midst of a five-game losing streak, struggling to stop the run or get after the quarterback, on paper they still have the pieces to make a run in the playoffs, assuming health. Offensively, there are some pieces in place, too, like George Pickens at receiver, Pat Freiermuth at tight end and a crop of young offensive linemen who should continue to grow moving forward.
But there’s still a question at receiver opposite Pickens, a need at running back with Najee Harris slated to hit free agency and likely leave, and an offensive line that really struggled late in the season and now will have its starting right tackle shifting back over to left tackle.
Clark has a point though that the Steelers can’t keep shopping in the bargain bin at the quarterback position, which they did last year with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. They might do that again this offseason with the “preference” being to re-sign Wilson or Fields.
But Clark wants the Steelers to pivot from their conservative ways and go all in on a trade for Stafford.
“Russ and Justin Fields, it was papering over the fact that they were in a horrible situation because they were trying to get rid of the wreckage of the Kenny Pickett pick. That was the original sin of the Steelers franchise, right? Now they had a bust at a first-round quarterback,” Clark added. “And it’s really hard to get over that unless you’re the San Francisco 49ers and you have the best quarterback coach of his generation.
“I think you end that cycle by trading for someone like Matthew Stafford and saying it’s over, it’s done.”
In theory, Clark’s perspective makes a great deal of sense. The Steelers are in a bad cycle right now at the quarterback position. But trading a high draft pick for a 37-year-old quarterback, one who seemingly wants $50 million a year in a contract, doesn’t make for the best answer to get out of the cycle for the Black and Gold.
It might paper things over for two years or so, but the Steelers would be right back at square one once Stafford’s career is over.
