Steelers have contentious choices ahead of Big Ben’s pending retirement

Free Agents

Opting for trade while potentially rewarding would be costly. On the other hand, signing a free agent could probably be done on the cheap yet risky proposition. That said, such a move has one upside.  It allows the Steelers to address their offensive line, secondary, and wide receivers in 2022 before taking a quarterback in 2023.

So several quarterbacks will be free agents, although the quality of those who will be available is debatable. However, that said, not all of them are worthy of consideration, like Ryan Fitzpatrick, who would be the same age as Ben Roethlisberger and would unlikely bring value to the team. Then who is there?

Andy Dalton

The long-time Bengal is a free agent at the end of the season. With Justin Field looking to take the reigns as the starter in Chicago, which ultimately pushes Andy out the door. The question here is whether Dalton has enough in the tank and stays injury-free long enough to lead the Steelers for one or two seasons.

One needs to consider that since his departure from Cincinnati, Dallas only signed him because there were no other options to replace an injured Dak Prescott and the Bears signed him then drafted Field.