With Russell Wilson moving on to his next team, the Pittsburgh Steelers have even fewer options at quarterback. At this point, it seems like it’s Aaron Rodgers or bust. However, it’s uncertain if Rodgers will make them a championship contender. He isn’t the same player he once was. The Steelers want to break out of the cycle of mediocrity they’ve been stuck in, but that’s easier said than done. Former NFL offensive lineman Damien Woody believes Rodgers will give the Steelers more of the same, and that’s part of their larger problem.
“This doesn’t lead them anywhere where they need to be as an organization,” Woody said Wednesday on ESPN’s First Take. “I’ve always said, in sports, the worst place you can be is in the middle. Either be bad or be good. In football, if you’re bad, at least you have an opportunity to get yourself a quarterback.
“The Pittsburgh Steelers, for the longest time, their only claim to fame is, ‘Well, we haven’t had a losing season.’ Where has that gotten the Pittsburgh Steelers? Nowhere. The standard is just we haven’t lost. I thought the standard was winning Super Bowls.”
The Steelers have indeed felt stuck for the past few seasons. They’ve gone almost 10 years without a playoff victory. That shouldn’t make anyone on the team happy. Yes, they haven’t hit rock bottom, but they still haven’t gotten close to their ultimate goal. Most of their playoff losses have been pretty embarrassing, too.
The Steelers shouldn’t tank. They shouldn’t want to be bad enough to get a top draft pick. However, they also have to be realistic about their situation. There probably isn’t a quarterback available who will make them a championship contender.
Continuing to put a Band-Aid on the quarterback position isn’t doing them any favors. Unfortunately, the Steelers are stuck between a rock and a hard place there. Continuing to win even after Ben Roethlisberger, their franchise quarterback, retired is impressive. However, it feels like there’s a ceiling on what this version of the Steelers can accomplish.
It might not be fair to say the Steelers have gotten nowhere in the past few years, though. They’ve still added talent at other positions. Also, the Steelers tried to find their next franchise quarterback in Kenny Pickett. That just didn’t work out.
Their quarterback situation has been more of a mess over the past two years. In that time, there wasn’t much more they could do to fix that problem. Last year, they acquired two cheap starting options. It was a fine experiment. This year feels like more of a problem, but in a year with a weak quarterback draft class, the Steelers might be better off waiting until next year to find their long-term answer.
Therefore, Rodgers might be their best option. Are they going to win the Super Bowl with him under center? Probably not, but maybe they can take a step forward and win a playoff game. The standard is winning championships, but sometimes, the NFL is a marathon, not a sprint. Only one team can win the Super Bowl every year. Perhaps signing Rodgers will be the best thing for the Steelers in the long run.
