The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the greatest franchises in NFL history. They’re tied for the most Super Bowls won by a team, and they’re consistently a playoff team. However, recently, they’ve taken a step back. While the Steelers have still been in the playoff picture, they haven’t been an actual contender for years. Their lack of postseason success has been a thorn in the fan base’s side. Analyst Robert Mays believes Pittsburgh has had the stars to be successful, but that it’s made too many missteps to capitalize.
“When you have T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward, maybe not in their like absolute primes, but still playing at a very high level and you have the capability of fielding like a top-five defense, and you are a proud franchise, the Kenny Pickett, Matt Canada era is just unacceptable,” Mays said Monday on The Athletic Football Show. “It was in real time.
“The quarterback part of this, I’ve tried to show them a little bit of grace because, as you go through the individual years, it’s hard to find the decision that would have been better.”
Since Ben Roethlisberger retired after the 2021 season, the Steelers have struggled to find his successor. They forced selecting a quarterback in the 2022 draft, and that proved costly. Quarterback looked like a weakness of that draft, but that didn’t deter the Steelers.
Pickett showed flashes during his rookie season, but he didn’t develop into a franchise player. The Steelers’ offense didn’t do him many favors, either. Canada was a disaster as offensive coordinator, and Pittsburgh was too slow to move on from him. That wasted several years where the Steelers had phenomenal defenses.
Now, they still find themselves without an answer at quarterback, and their stars might be exiting their primes. Watt will turn 31 this season, and while he was still incredible in 2024, he wasn’t as dominant as he had been. Heyward continues to defy Father Time, but at 36 years old, there’s no telling when his level of play will drop.
While Mays gives the Steelers some leeway because it’s tough to find a franchise quarterback, he doesn’t think they’re totally blameless.
“I absolutely think they could have shown more urgency in some of these moments. Why weren’t they a Geno [Smith] team this offseason? I think even if you can kind of explain all of the quarterback decisions, I think there have been a lot of half-measures. I don’t think the Canada thing is justifiable or defensible in any way, shape, or form.”
Half-measures have been the story for the Steelers in recent years, especially under center. Rather than make an aggressive move to acquire a proven player or a talented prospect, they’ve tried to put a Band-Aid on the position.
Last year, that came in the form of Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. While both of them played fine at times, neither looked like an actual solution. At the moment, Mason Rudolph is penciled in as the Steelers’ starter, and that doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence. They’re still pursuing Aaron Rodgers, but that’s not a long-term move, either. There’s also no guarantee that they’ll sign Rodgers.
The Steelers have painted themselves into a corner at quarterback this year. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like they’re going to be a Super Bowl contender. The year might be a total failure if they once again can’t win a playoff game. Players like Watt and Heyward look like superheroes right now, but Father Time is undefeated. For the sake of those players, Pittsburgh can’t afford too many more major missteps.
