The Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t won the Super Bowl since 2008. While they’ve been competitive since then, recent years have seen them take a step back. A big part of that is that they don’t have a franchise quarterback. Ben Roethlisberger was elite for a long time, but he retired after the 2021 season. Since then, the Steelers have felt a little rudderless. Former Steelers corner Rod Woodson believes Mike Tomlin’s Steelers won’t win a second Super Bowl until they find a franchise quarterback.
“Since Big Ben has left, they’ve been struggling to find that replacement,” Woodson said Thursday on the Jim Rome Show. “I think they have to find that replacement. They do put a good product on the field year in and year out, and I know Tomlin is a really good coach, but he’s not gonna win another Super Bowl until they find the replacement for Ben Roethlisberger in that quarterback position.
“You need a quarterback in today’s game. If you don’t have one, you’re gonna struggle in the National Football League.”
Woodson isn’t wrong. Winning in the NFL today is incredibly difficult without a good quarterback. Look at the teams that were competing for a Super Bowl this year. Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen, and Jayden Daniels are all some of the best quarterbacks in the league. The Steelers do not have a guy like that.
Even quarterbacks like Nick Foles and Joe Flacco were playing elite football when their teams won the Super Bowl. And those teams had incredible rosters around their quarterbacks. The Steelers don’t have the talent on offense to elevate a quarterback who isn’t elite.
It’s not like the Steelers haven’t tried to replace Roethlisberger, though. They drafted Kenny Pickett in the first round during their first offseason without Roethlisberger. That proved to be the wrong move, but they were trying to find their next franchise guy. Pickett just wasn’t the answer, and the Steelers didn’t have a good enough infrastructure in place to develop him.
It is tough envisioning the Steelers winning a Super Bowl without a difference maker at quarterback. They can make the playoffs, but against teams led by Mahomes or Allen, they’ll probably come up short. That’s been the case over the past few years.
It seems unlikely the Steelers will fix their quarterback problem this offseason. They seem primed to bring back Russell Wilson or Justin Fields. This draft class isn’t strong at quarterback, either. The Steelers might find themselves continuing to toil in mediocrity. Woodson is correct, but fixing this issue is easier said than done.
