The Pittsburgh Steelers have been synonymous with greatness for so long. Before Tom Brady and the New England Patriots’ string of championships, Pittsburgh held the most Super Bowl titles of any team in the league with six. They are also one of the oldest teams in the league and the Rooney family, along with the Halas family, the Mara family, and the Bidwell family, make up some of the “founding fathers” of the NFL we know today. This has given the Steelers a lot of respectability in the league. They have their own brand, tradition, and take football seriously. But now, it appears that has changed.
Since the retirement of 18-year starter Ben Roethlisberger at the end of the 2021 season, the Steelers have been struggling to find a quarterback to be the new face of the franchise. During the 2022 free agency period, they picked up veteran Mitch Trubisky and then drafted Kenny Pickett, who joined Mason Rudolph on the roster. The original plan was for Trubisky to start, while Pickett learned the NFL game from the bench until it was his time to take over. Trubisky wasn’t able to win consistently enough however, and ended up being benched earlier than expected.
Steelers Losing Face With National Media
According to Tim Benz from TribLive, it is. Usually, the national media protects the Steelers and mocks fans for not being satisfied with having Head Coach Mike Tomlin’s winning seasons. They tell fans how grateful they should be to have a team that wins, but every fan base just wants their team to improve each year.
But now, the quarterback controversy has some national media pundits changing their tune. Benz states that they are frustrated by the apparent lack of decisiveness in finding someone to replace Roethlisberger, calling it a “competitive malaise.”
“Don’t get too excited,” writes Benz. “I am not saying the national refrain of ‘Don’t you realize Mike Tomlin has never had a losing season’ is going away. I’m just starting to notice that at least some outside of Pittsburgh are starting to realize that maybe the Steelers are getting a little too cozy with being just good enough not to stink.”
He goes on to mention that recently he had heard reports from several sports analysts who are not happy with the stasis at the quarterback position. That includes Peter King from Football Morning in America, Warren Sharp from Sharp Football, and Colin Cowherd from Fox Sports. They all seem gobsmacked that the Steelers seem to just be happy bringing Pickett back for a third season as Dulac reports.
This is in spite of the fact that he was benched for all intents and purposes at the end of the 2023 season in favor of Rudolph, who won the Steelers’ last three regular season games. Now it seems like they might let Rudolph walk away in free agency to keep Pickett comfortable with the team. Benz noted that Sharp called the Steelers “unserious” and King said this is a “colossal misjudgment.”
“To be fair to the Steelers, no one, nationally or locally, should be condemning them for a sin they haven’t committed yet. Maybe they will bolster the QB room. Maybe Kenny Pickett will have to go through a legitimate starting quarterback battle, despite some of the Easter eggs we’ve seen dropped throughout the offseason suggesting otherwise,” wrote Benz.
The “Easter egg” that Benz is referring to is new Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith’s first interview where he announced he is the man for the job. He believes he can successfully turn things around for Pickett. There have been other names dropped as possible additions to the roster, including Justin Fields and Ryan Tannehill, but it appears that will depend on what the team does with Rudolph.
Do you agree with Benz? Are the Steelers losing face with the national media?
