In the pursuit of an answer at the quarterback position this offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers are seemingly looking high and low to find a solution to the problem that has plagued them since Ben Roethlisberger retired. To find that solution, they must exhaust all avenues, according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano.
Appearing on ESPN’s Unsportsmanlike Monday morning, Graziano stated that the Steelers should be turning over every stone, even if there are ones with nothing underneath them in an effort to find a quarterback.
“Honestly, I think calls get made that are, ‘The answer is no, we’re not gonna do that, but thanks for calling,’ right?” Graziano said of the Steelers’ quarterback situation, according to audio via ESPN Radio. “There was a report out there last week about the Steelers asking about Trevor Lawrence. Now, I know there’s been a lot of back and forth on whether that actually happened or not, but as an example, right, that you have a situation in Jacksonville where there this new head coach gonna be a new GM, you need a quarterback. Hey, why not make a call? Right? And the answer is no chance we’re holding onto him, et cetera. We just signed him. Can’t trade him anyway financially. So, but I do think that happens an awful lot.
“So, yeah, I think if you’re the Pittsburgh Steelers specifically right now, you are turning over every single stone, even the ones that are very unlikely to have anything under them, right? Because why? You never know unless you ask.”
It never hurts to ask, and from the Steelers’ perspective with GM Omar Khan and head coach Mike Tomlin, it never hurts to make a phone call to check on a guy’s availability via trade. As Graziano stated, it happens all the time in professional sports. It’s GMs doing their due diligence.
The Trevor Lawrence report last week from Ryan Burr turned out to be fake from multiple reports, including NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero’s, but even with it being a fake report from Burr, it’s a call the Steelers should have made. They have to get creative at the quarterback position in an effort to get out of purgatory.
Though it sounds like one of Russell Wilson or Justin Fields will be re-signed to pilot the Steelers in 2025, and a quarterback will be selected in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Steelers should be aiming to swing big.
Of course, that doesn’t mean calling on guys like Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, or any of those true stars at the position, because that would just be a complete waste of time. But it does mean getting creative and trying to take advantage of situations that might not be ideal.
Like Matthew Stafford’s situation in Los Angeles with his contract and his age. Though reports are that Stafford likely remains in Los Angeles for the 2025 season, Graziano believes the Steelers might be one of the teams to bring him in if the Rams move him.
“If the Rams can’t get something done with Matthew Stafford, there are plenty of teams that would love to bring in Matthew Stafford and Pittsburgh might be one of them,” Graziano says. “We know that the Giants have been connected there. Odds are he probably finds a way to stay with the Rams. But you call, right?”
You absolutely call, especially for a QB of Stafford’s caliber and the situation in which he finds himself. That would be part of the Steelers turning over every stone possible to try and find an answer. That’s what they should be doing. Is that what they are doing? That remains to be seen, but it is still early in the offseason.
Time will tell.
The Steelers’ search should be expansive though. They can’t just run it back with Wilson or Fields and a rookie and believe everything is fixed and good to go for their long-term future.
