The Pittsburgh Steelers have indicated that 2022 first-round pick Kenny Pickett will be given every chance in the world to prove that he can be the guy in his third season, after his first two were marred by injury and inconsistency. Mason Rudolph played exceedingly well down the stretch to help Pittsburgh earn a playoff spot, but is a pending free agent and might have options outside of the Steel City this offseason.
Many analysts across the country believe the team needs to take a serious look at getting some outside help via free agency or a trade If Pittsburgh is serious about doing more than just sneaking into the postseason in 2024. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac reported there was some internal division about whether to go with Pickett or Rudolph as the starting quarterback next season.
Former Steelers cornerback Bryant McFadden and CBS Sports senior writer, Will Brinson, discussed the quarterback situation off of the report that the team was deciding between Pickett and Rudolph to be the starter. Both agreed that Pittsburgh can’t simply bring back the same quarterbacks as 2023, minus Mitch Trubisky, who has already been cut.
“This is a team that has too much talent to waste, especially in a really difficult division,” Brinson said. “This is a rock and a hard place with the Steelers. I’ll tell you what, give me a third-party candidate. I think you go get somebody else.”
McFadden said that looking at the AFC North with Joe Burrow returning to full health, Lamar Jackson fresh off his second league MVP Award, and Deshaun Watson coming back healthy as well for 2024, the Steelers with Rudolph or Pickett would be at the bottom of the pecking order. The mix of Rudolph and Pickett was good enough to secure a Wild Card berth in 2023, but if the team has higher ambitions in 2024, they need to find another serious option.
“One thing we know about the NFL, it’s a quarterback league,” McFadden said. “If you have aspirations of competing for a Super Bowl, you need to have that guy at the quarterback position. Unfortunately, for Pittsburgh right now, as we see it, Kenny Pickett has been up and down. We saw a nice resurgence of production when Mason Rudolph jumped into the lineup in 2023, but is he that sustainable for a full year?”
Brinson also had questions about Rudolph that led to questioning Pickett. He said it’s a problem for the Steelers that Rudolph, who has been hanging around the organization biding his time until the next chance to play, pushed Pickett to the bench.
The Steelers will have options in free agency and then the NFL Draft to fill out the quarterback room. Former Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans quarterback, Ryan Tannehill has been a popular candidate to land with the Steelers due to his success under new Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith when they were together with the Titans. Pittsburgh likely won’t have a shot at the top quarterback prospects like Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, or Jayden Daniels. The organization could look at the next level of Bo Nix, and Michael Penix Jr. however, if the organization wants a younger signal-caller to be the competition that Mike Tomlin said would be brought in.
Steelers’ Top Options According To Brinson
Brinson started the conversation with how much he likes the notion of getting Chicago Bears quarterback, Justin Fields in a trade. ESPN reported in January that an informal poll of league evaluators thought it would take a second or third-round pick to pry Fields away from the Bears. The Steelers might not want to part with any draft capital, especially in those early rounds, due to the other needs on Pittsburgh’s roster. That means that free agency is a more likely avenue.
Brinson was a big fan of the idea that the Steelers should pursue former Super Bowl-winning quarterback, Russell Wilson. He acknowledged that the 35-year-old has started to look washed up on both the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks, but he gives the team more upside than Pickett or Rudolph.
The team will have plenty of different decisions to make in the 2024 offseason. The ones it makes at quarterback will be watched under a microscope because, as McFadden noted, it’s incredibly challenging to compete in this league without a legitimate guy at the position.
Who do you think the 2024 Steelers quarterbacks should be?
