Although the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Mason Rudolph, it doesn’t appear like they intend on him being their starting QB in 2025. They’re still reportedly courting Aaron Rodgers. They could always circle back to Russell Wilson, too. There’s a ton of confusion surrounding the Steelers’ future under center. That’s not great, especially because they just traded for and paid DK Metcalf. That trade feels less exciting when no one knows who’s going to throw him the ball.
“They should’ve known all of this before they did the DK Metcalf trade,” Mike Florio said Friday on his Pro Football Talk podcast. “They should’ve known exactly who the guy is gonna be and there should be no guesswork and no, ‘Let’s wait and see.'”
Florio isn’t wrong to criticize the Steelers. They gave Metcalf one of the biggest contracts in the team’s history, which was a good move. He fixes their problem at receiver. However, they can’t maximize his value if they don’t have a quality starting quarterback. It’s tough to see Metcalf having a huge impact if no one can get him the ball.
When the Steelers traded for Metcalf, it felt like a sign that they feel like they can still be competitive this year. That’s probably why they want to sign Rodgers. However, there’s no telling what he’s going to do. He could even retire. Wilson has other options as well.
Metcalf said he’s not concerned with the lack of clarity at quarterback, but will that cool-headedness remain if his numbers are down during the season? George Pickens is going into a contract year, so he probably wants to increase his value as much as possible. It’s tough to see that happening without a player like Wilson or Rodgers under center.
Rudolph is a fine backup, but if he’s the Steelers’ starter, they’re probably not going to compete with the best teams in the AFC. The Steelers seem poised to have a decent group of weapons on offense, which was a problem last year. Now, they just don’t have a quarterback to support those skill players.
Part of the reason the Steelers didn’t have their quarterback situation figured out before acquiring Metcalf is because they couldn’t. They made that deal before even the legal tampering period started. The Steelers could’ve re-signed Wilson or Justin Fields, but that didn’t happen. Maybe they should’ve given Fields a better offer. Hindsight is 20/20, though, and the Steelers can still land a decent starting quarterback.
