With less than two weeks until the 2025 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers sit with just two quarterbacks on their roster: Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson. The plan all along has been to land four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers, but the longer things drag on, the more hope of salvaging the 2025 season dwindles.
On April 11, an AFC North rival made a quarterback splash (if we can call it that). ESPN insider Adam Schefter reported that the Cleveland Browns have come to terms on a one-year, $4 million contract with Joe Flacco that is worth up to $13 million in incentives.
Flacco spent over a decade with the Baltimore Ravens (where he won a Super Bowl) before bouncing around the league as a backup and stop-gap starter. Now 40 years old, Flacco will look to compete with former Steelers first-round pick Kenny Pickett for the QB1 job in Cleveland, and the Browns could still take a quarterback early in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Steelers fans would like to do nothing more than to poke fun at a miserable Browns organization whose quarterback room consists an aging statue in Joe Flacco, a deplorable Kenny Pickett on his third NFL team before his fourth season, and a nightmarish Deshaun Watson contract.
But as bad as the Cleveland's quarterback situation is, Pittsburgh's is worse.
The Pittsburgh Steelers can't afford to be out-quarterbacked by the Cleveland Browns
Nobody is going to be mistaking the Cleveland Browns as Super Bowl contenders now that Joe Flacco is in the building. But if we're being honest with ourselves, this AFC North rival just signed a quarterback better than anyone on the current Pittsburgh Steelers roster.
As much as some within the fanbase want to believe in Mason Rudolph, the soon-to-be 30-year-old quarterback wasn't good enough to be anything more than a backup on the Steelers from 2019 to 2023, so what makes fans think he's all of a sudden going to be an answer to their QB woes?
Last year with the Tennessee Titans, Rudolph threw nine touchdowns with as many interceptions for just 5.7 adjusted yards per attempt. This led to a pitiful 80.1 passer rating and a 1-4 record as a starter.
If the Steelers don't find a better option at quarterback, it will be Browns fans who get the last laugh. The organization is still trying to convince Aaron Rodgers to come to Pittsburgh. But if there's no movement by the NFL Draft, Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin could make a desperation move to cover their bases.
Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart has often been linked to the Steelers during the pre-draft process, and in recent weeks, Colorado's Shedeur Sanders is even picking up steam in connection with Pittsburgh. It's impossible to say if either would be a long-term answer for a quarterback-desperate team like the Steelers, but they would be better options than Rudolph.
For now, we'll assume the Pittsburgh Steelers know what they're doing at the quarterback position and that the QB room will look a lot different this summer. Either way, we know the Joe Flacco signing by the Browns is hardly threatening. But the sad reality is that it's still better than any option the Steelers have right now.