Rumors have been flying regarding the Pittsburgh Steelers’ options at quarterback for 2025. The newest hot topic is Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams. While the Steelers reportedly have interest in the veteran, FOX Sports’ Colin Cowherd thinks Stafford should be wary of a potential move to Pittsburgh.
“Albert Breer says the Giants, the Browns, the Raiders and the Steelers have all shown interest,” Cowherd said via The Herd, regarding Matthew Stafford. “Well my take is, you could put caution tape around those four franchises offensively. Those are bad, danger, stay away…To me, Stafford would be nuts to leave.”
Cowherd is referencing a report from early Monday, in which Breer confirmed the interest in Stafford from those four teams. It should come as no surprise that teams that need help at quarterback often have struggling offenses. The Steelers were the only team in that group of four that had any sort of success in 2024. It shows the weird place the Steelers are in: winning enough to be in playoff contention yet finding themselves alongside the worst teams in the NFL when it comes to the quarterback position.
There could be reasons for Stafford to have concerns about Pittsburgh. The Steelers’ offensive line struggled toward the end of the year, although there were plenty of injuries to that unit throughout the season. Aside from George Pickens, there’s a lack of playmaking ability across the offense. Pickens is also only on the books for one more season.
Those things could worry Stafford, but plenty of things can change in the next few months. Pittsburgh doesn’t have the luxury of bringing in a franchise-altering QB. Stafford might actually be the cream of the crop. Given that, they have no choice but to upgrade the rest of the offense as well. The lack of talent on offense is something the front office would hopefully address anyway.
If the Steelers traded for Stafford, they’d likely have to give him a new contract. The more they pay, the less they’ll give up in a return package. Still, that money could hurt their chances of building a talented offense around Stafford.
At the end of the day, Stafford’s made it clear he can still play at a high level. It was only about a month ago that he nearly upset the eventual Super Bowl champions in the playoffs. The Steelers could bring him in, hoping he’d turn them into Super Bowl contenders while running the risk of his age causing his play to fall off a cliff. Or they could play it safe and avoid that while running the risk of another quick playoff exit.
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