Steelers backup quarterback position has never been more important than now

The Pittsburgh Steelers had a plethora of issues with their backup quarterbacks in 2019, but here’s why their depth has never been more important than now.

The Steelers, of all teams, should understand the importance of the backup quarterback in a pinch. After starting the season with three straight losses in 2019, Pittsburgh won 8 of their next 10 games and was a virtual lock to make the playoffs. Unfortunately, their backup quarterbacks showed just how bad they really were.

An embarrassing combination of Devlin Hodges and Mason Rudolph resulted in three straight losses to close out the sesaon – each contest resulting in a mere 10 points and a dismal 146 passing yards per game.

Despite needing to win at least one of their last three contests to secure a playoff berth, Pittsburgh’s backup quarterbacks couldn’t get anything going in crunch time. While this isn’t to say that Rudolph and Hodges can’t improve with more experience, but the fact that the Steelers ignored addressing the position this offseason was mindboggling.

Now, more than ever, the backup quarterback position is not only dire to the Steelers, but to all 32 NFL teams.

Steelers are taking a big risk by not making a move

Obviously, Ben Roethlisberger’s health is a big concern. Though his elbow is apparently fully healed, the odds of him staying on the field are not good, and history shows it. In 16 NFL seasons, Big Ben has played every game just 4 times. At 38 years old, there’s certainly no evidence to suggest that his riddled injury history isn’t going to repeat itself once again.

However, quite possibly the biggest reason the Steelers quarterback situation will be critical in 2020 is because of the nationwide pandemic. If an NFL player tests positive for Corona this season, they (like anyone else) will be quarantined and won’t be able to play for at least two weeks, potentially longer.

This does not fare well for Pittsburgh in 2020. Rudolph and Hodges graded out as the 35th and 37th quarterbacks last season, respectively, out of 37 qualifying passers, according to Pro Football Focus. If Roethlisberger ends up missing time this season, we have witnessed no reason to trust these two quarterbacks behind him.

Experienced players like Jameis Winston, Cam Newton, and Andy Dalton all signed very reasonable deals this offseason. With the Steelers being in a Super Bowl window, I’m surprised they would leave one of their last seasons in a Super Bowl window at the hands of poor backup quarterbacks.

Pittsburgh is set to have 18 players hit free agency next offseason – including names like Cameron Heyward, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Bud Dupree. While they will be able to retain a few of them, there is no doubt the Steelers are going to lose a lot of talent after this year.

Theoretically, if Roethlisberger never gets injured and is able to avoid the virus this season, then the Steelers made the right move by sticking with their guns. However if their backup quarterbacks are forced to play and struggle like they did last year, there should be a lot of outraged fans. The backup quarterback position has never been more important than now, and Pittsburgh showed us how much they don’t care.