When I think of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ current outlook in light of the quarterback dilemma, the 1970s hit song “Stuck In The Middle With You” loops through my head. Coincidentally, that song is by the band Stealers Wheel, which makes it feel like some kind of twisted joke. Without a quarterback, the Steelers very much are stuck in the middle.
On this morning’s edition of ESPN’s Get Up, show host Mike Greenberg asked the panel if it’s an overreaction to say this is the worst possible year to need a quarterback.
“It’s not, I mean, look at what’s going on, right?” Dan Graziano said. “The best move was the Rams keeping Stafford. Then the next-best move is probably the Raiders getting Geno Smith. Now you’re at a point where the Giants, the Steelers still need somebody. The Vikings are elite, but at least need some kind of veteran in there. The Colts have a camp battle between Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson. Pittsburgh and the Giants are hoping a guy the Jets cut [Aaron Rodgers], says yes to them and he can only pick one of them and he might not pick either.
“And the draft isn’t loaded either, so it’s rough.”
Last year’s quarterback class was loaded with Bo Nix, Jayden Daniels, and Drake Maye having decent seasons with plenty of hope for Caleb Williams, J.J. McCarthy and Michael Penix Jr. this year. This year’s upcoming draft class is thought to have no quarterbacks that would rank inside of that top six last year. In other words, none of these 2025 QBs would have been first rounders in last year’s class. Maybe Cam Ward could have snuck into the back end of the first round.
Only time will tell if the 2025 QB class ends up being as bad as the 2022 class. Unfortunately, those have been the top two times that the Steelers have entered a draft in need of a quarterback. Last time, they took the first quarterback off the board with Kenny Pickett at No. 20 overall. I guess this is what the Steelers get for not continually addressing the position until they strike gold.
They also had the opportunity to work toward revitalizing Justin Fields’ career, but they fumbled that situation, too. Whether it was replacing him with Russell Wilson last season or failing to match the New York Jets’ offer, the Steelers might be re-thinking how they handled Fields at this point. The music is about to stop in this game of musical chairs, and the Steelers might be the team left without a viable quarterback option for the 2025 season.
