The news was rather exciting Sunday night that the Pittsburgh Steelers had traded for star wide receiver DK Metcalf and handed him a five-year, $150 million extension, making him among the highest-paid NFL receivers.
The Steelers finally landed the big-name receiver they’d been chasing for the last calendar year. The only problem? Who’s going to throw him the ball?
Pittsburgh preferred to move forward with Justin Fields as its starting quarterback, but he agreed to a two-year deal with the New York Jets for $40 million, including $20 million guaranteed. That has left the Steelers with limited options at quarterback. Reportedly, the Steelers have turned their attention to 41-year-old QB Aaron Rodgers, though the four-time NFL MVP is weighing his options between Pittsburgh and the New York Giants.
The Steelers’ situation at quarterback Steelers right now is not a good one. And it’s their own doing. For ESPN’s Brooke Pryor, who appeared on ESPN Radio’s Unsportsmanlike Tuesday morning, trading for Metcalf and paying him big money without a quarterback in place is like getting a great Christmas present but not having any batteries to use it.
“The people I’ve talked to around the league expect it to be between those guys with most people thinking that they’re gonna go with Aaron Rodgers. But look, the way that I’m thinking about it, they traded for DK Metcalf Sunday night. Essentially they bought the Christmas present and forgot the batteries and now they’re scrambling around and going, ‘Oh my gosh, how are we gonna get batteries for this toy so that my kids can be happy? Do we have to like knock them outta the remote? Can we same day deliver some and overpay like $10 in shipping and handling fees?'” Pryor said regarding the situation in Pittsburgh, according to audio via ESPN Radio. “They’re in a tough spot. This is why Omar [Khan] initially said, ‘Look, we’ve gotta get a quarterback figured out and then we will build the rest of the roster.’
“Instead, they went out and got DK Metcalf — a great trade at the time, but it’s not looking as good if you don’t have a quarterback that can utilize all of those weapons.”
That’s quite the analogy from Pryor. As a parent, that’s the biggest fear on Christmas morning with little kids, not having batteries for toys. If you don’t, it’s a mess. For the Steelers, they don’t have the battery to make the QB/WR connection — at least not yet.
Maybe that turns out to be Rodgers. But for the moment, the batteries aren’t in place to utilize the new toy in Metcalf. That’s quite concerning for the Steelers moving forward.
They missed out on Fields, were unable to snag Sam Darnold, and now the options are dwindling on the open market. Of course, Omar Khan and the Steelers could swing a deal for a quarterback via trade, but what would that look like, and for who? It’s very unclear.
They’re between a rock and a hard place at the moment, and that’s largely their fault. They did well to swing big for Metcalf, but without an answer at quarterback for at least 2025, it won’t have as great of an impact as they expect.
Hopefully the QB situation gets figured out — and soon — so the Steelers can start planning how to best utilize their new weapon.
