After another non-losing season and a first-round playoff exit, many believe the Pittsburgh Steelers need to do something bold this offseason at the quarterback position to try and turn the tides and get the Black and Gold back to being legitimate contenders.
Matthew Stafford was seemingly that ideal option — until he wasn’t. After not really being involved in the Stafford situation due to the financial implications, the Steelers are back to looking at the likes of Justin Fields and Russell Wilson, not to mention names like Aaron Rodgers and Sam Darnold at quarterback.
None of those names are exactly “bold” or move the needle for the Steelers in 2025, which has former NFL defensive end and ESPN Radio personality Chris Canty fed up with the Black and Gold.
“The Pittsburgh Steelers, it’s been a decade and a half since they’ve been in a Super Bowl. So the standard, the excellence that we’ve seen in that franchise, essentially excellence personified, that has now lost a little bit of its luster and it continues to do so with each passing year where they have early exit after early exit in the postseason,” Canty said Tuesday morning on Unsportsmanlike, according to audio via ESPN Radio. “And so, I don’t know what the move is, but clearly they need to be more aggressive than they have in years past because they’re sitting on [their] hands, and doing business as usual hasn’t gotten them to where the organization prides itself on being in terms of one of the teams that is constantly in the chase for championships.
“They got a championship-level coach, but their roster is not championship caliber, and their quarterback play certainly has been anything but, post-Ben Roethlisberger. So yeah, it’s hard for me, and I can’t believe I’m saying this because the Pittsburgh Steelers seem like they are as buttoned up as functional as any franchise in the NFL. But the Pittsburgh Steelers, they’re not a serious franchise. They’re just not; I don’t take them serious.”
While the Steelers have remained competitive and reached the playoffs in two of the last three seasons post-Ben Roethlisberger, they haven’t been able to get over the hump and win a playoff game in that span. When they’ve reached the playoffs, too, in recent years, they’ve gotten blown out.
It’s not all on the quarterback, though the Steelers have struggled to identify the best path forward at the position post-Roethlisberger, going through the likes of Mitch Trubisky, Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph, Justin Fields and Russell Wilson so far.
Some have been better than others, but a clear answer is still needed there ahead of the 2025 season. With Matthew Stafford off the trade block and returning to the Los Angeles Rams on another big contract, that’s where Canty’s criticism comes from.
Last week, he stated that the Steelers were an unserious franchise if they didn’t move aggressively enough for Stafford. They didn’t. On Monday, Canty stated the Steelers should trade three first-round picks to take Miami (FL) QB Cam Ward No. 1 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft.
They won’t be doing that. So it’s understandable why Canty is fed up. Fans are, too. But there’s still so much time this offseason and many dominos to fall before stating the Steelers aren’t serious at the QB position. Changes were promised this offseason by head coach Mike Tomlin, and the only coaching staff changes were letting Grady Brown’s contract expire and Aaron Curry leave for the New York Jets, replacing them with Gerald Alexander and Scott McCurley.
Not exactly big-time changes.
Free agency will be rather telling. GM Omar Khan has been aggressive in the past trying to fill holes, but there’s a lot of issues moving forward for the Steelers on both sides of the football. They’ll be hard to fix in one offseason.
The Steelers won’t be serious contenders until those issues are fixed, and for now “The Standard” seemingly remains having a winning record and making the playoffs. That’s a shame. Hopefully that changes soon.
