Roster Breakdown: Quarterbacks
By Edward Hunt
Here is a look at the Steelers roster. Here we will be addressing who is a lock, who has the inside track to make the roster, who is on the bubble, who is on the outside looking in and who is battling for a practice squad job. The first of this series is quarterbacks.
Locks to make the team
Ben Roethlisberger is the quarterback of this team. He is a franchise QB and the hope is that he will be for at least the next three years. He is the most productive quarterback in Steelers history and he is a future Hall of Famer. Ben just signed a two-year extension, which means the Steelers see him as the quarterback for the next three years.
Mason Rudolph: It was a surprise that Rudolph dropped to the third round as the Steelers were thinking of taking him in the first round. The fact that he dropped to the third round was an opportunity for the Steelers to trade up and get a potential quarterback of the future.
It is clear that he will be on the roster and it is not a secret that the Steelers are grooming him to take over after Roethlisberger is done. The question for this year is whether he will win the backup job from Josh Dobbs. It is not certain what will happen, but the thing that is certain is that he will get a lot of playing time this preseason.
Inside Track to Make the Roster
It is pretty likely that Josh Dobbs will make the roster, but there is always a chance somebody surprises in the preseason. This is what Josh Dobbs did last year.
It looked like Landry Jones was going to be the backup last year when Josh Dobbs tore it up in the final game of the preseason against the Panthers. Now the backup job is Dobb’s to lose, but he will need to play well in the preseason to keep the #2 job.
On the Outside Looking In
The Steelers signed former Browns training camp quarterback Brogan Roback. He was signed in the offseason to give the Steelers a fourth option in camp. It seems fairly certain that the Steelers will keep three quarterbacks and those three will be Roethlisberger, Dobbs and Rudolph.
My guess is that if Roback has a strong enough preseason, then he will still need to get some help from the top three to make the team. Unfortunately, I think his best hope is for an injury.