The Pittsburgh Steelers are wrapping up the 2024 NFL Draft this weekend, and Steelers’ star Cameron Heyward is hosting a live draft party from Acrisure Stadium. As a special guest on Heyward’s watch party, Steelers’ running back Jaylen Warren was asked about the current quarterback saga going down in Pittsburgh. The quarterback drama was obviously the biggest headline in the 2024 offseason for Pittsburgh, and Warren gave a frank and brutally honest opinion on the quarterback room now compared to the last few seasons.
The Steelers hit the restart button for quarterback this offseason, whether that was their original plan or not. Pittsburgh was able to acquire splash name quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields, while dumping Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph and Mitch Trubisky. A massive change for Pittsburgh, that was. Not only for the fans, but for the players too, according to Warren on Saturday at Heyward’s draft party.
This is coming from a guy who always has his teammates’ backs, especially his quarterbacks. It’s not all that surprising, although, a guy like Wilson has more leadership qualities at this point than Pickett.
Pittsburgh will be Wilson’s third team he has been a part of, while Pickett was coming into the Steel City as a rookie with a tall task – becoming the successor of Ben Roethlisberger. Wilson has led a team to two Super Bowl appearances, securing one ring, although he should have two if only they decided not to pass the ball.
In order for the Steelers to take that next step, which is to start winning playoff games again, they will need more leadership out of their quarterbacks. Roethlisberger was obviously a great leader for 18 years in Pittsburgh, but guys like Pickett and Trubisky seemed to struggle with that. Warren shared that Wilson and Fields have done a great job of coming into a new town as leaders, which is something he apparently hasn’t seen.
Steelers fans are just hoping that leadership from the quarterbacks can help elevate Pittsburgh’s offense who has been putrid for multiple seasons now. Players like Warren have to be frustrated, given that there is actually a lot of talent on their offense. It has been the quarterback play and coaching that’s been lacking. Warren isn’t the first player to recognize the leadership from Wilson since his arrival in Pittsburgh. Wilson has been personally congratulating each of the Steelers’ new draft picks as they are selected.
Wilson is looking to save his career this season potentially, because if his time in Pittsburgh is a failure, he may never be given another chance to play somewhere else.
Is Steelers’ Justin Fields The Future In Pittsburgh?
While Wilson is the starting quarterback in 2024, Fields is also building his leadership currently and working on becoming the future for the Steelers. The Steelers acquired Fields in a trade for almost next to nothing, as not just a plan for the future, but also a backup plan in case Wilson doesn’t pan out.
Fields has a fifth-year option worth around $25 million that the Steelers are not expected to pick up. Fields will either become an unrestricted free agent in 2025 or the Steelers will have to extend him if they think he can be the future franchise quarterback. Wilson is also on a one year contract, so both of their futures will solely depend on the results of the 2024 season.
