We are over halfway through the 2023 season for the Steelers upon writing this article. Their offense has been solid in the fourth quarter for the most part, but they have struggled throughout the first three quarters of a football game. A lot of blame has been placed on offensive coordinator Matt Canada, and for good reason. He has been bad at his job.
Many forget to look past Canada and look at some other issues that have only elevated his bad play calling. Many don't want to admit it, but Kenny Pickett is a big reason as to why the Steelers offense has been terrible. He cannot be the sole blame, but his slow starts are a big concern moving forward. He was supposed to show signs of improvement, and those signs are nonexistent.
Baker Mayfield could be an interesting option for the Steelers
After a great start with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season, their season has fallen off. Mayfield has been a solid starter for them and has given them chances to win for the most part. Overall, he has been a better quarterback than Pickett has been all season. Some might wonder what adding Mayfield and his fiery personality would bring to the Steelers.
Mitch Trubisky is the backup right now, but no one would believe that he could push Pickett out of his starting job. Signing someone like Mayfield to challenge for that spot on a team with a lot of talented players could only sharpen a player. Many know where Mayfield comes from throughout his career, and that could only add some fuel to the fire.
Plenty speculated that he could have joined Pittsburgh when he was on his way out of the Browns organization. The Steelers could provide an ultimate revenge spot for Mayfield. The biggest thing will be what kind of contract he could ask for in an otherwise light quarterback class in the upcoming free agency cycle. He would be a great option to push Pickett every week to start.
Gardner Minshew would be another solid option this offseason
Although he has been mostly a backup throughout his career, Gardner Minshew might be one of the most likely options on this list. Mason Rudolph is going to be a free agent after the conclusion of this season, and it seems possible that the Steelers will be looking to add another quarterback to their room. Minshew might be a good option.
Andy Weidl was with the Philadelphia Eagles when Minshew was there, so a connection can be found that quickly. Some even rumored that this quarterback might have had some interest from the black and gold last offseason when he was a free agent. He has been having a solid season ever since taking over as the Colts starter due to injury.
Other than having a connection with Pittsburgh's front office, Minshew could bring a lot of depth to the quarterback's room. He has a lot of starting experience in the NFL, and he also has been a backup throughout his career. Having someone who is starting games and finding different ways to win those starts could be a nice benefit to have around a young quarterback.
Right now, Minshew is outdueling Pickett when you compare their stats side by side. It's hard to tell if that is more troublesome for Pickett or if Minshew is just playing that good of football currently. This would make a lot of sense, but again the issue might come down to cap space. Minshew is not making a ton this ear, but if he keeps up his current pace then he should command a lot more this offseason.
Jimmy Garoppolo could be a great option to push Kenny Pickett next year
Las Vegas is in a tough spot right now after they fired their Head coach a couple of weeks ago. They will roll through the rest of their schedule ahead and hope for brighter days ahead. The issue is they have a lot of issues and not a ton of cap space to fix those problems. It would make sense for a new coach coming in to focus on making plenty of changes to this roster.
Jimmy Garoppolo was brought in this past offseason and signed an expensive deal during that time. It made sense as he was seen as a winner and someone who would not lose games. Sadly, for both of these parties, that has not worked out with the Raiders as their defense is not as good as the 49ers. Things look bleak for the future of the Raiders for now.
One would have to imagine that Las Vegas will try and move on from Garoppolo if possible. The issue is that it doesn't make a lot of sense for them to cut him. They would gain almost no cap space from doing that this season. Perhaps a trade where the Raiders eat a lot of his cap and move him to a new opportunity could benefit a lot of people.
That is where the Steelers come in unless the Raiders would just be frustrated enough to cut him this offseason. Garoppolo would be joining an environment that would be similar to the one he was in with San Francisco. He has also been rumored to Pittsburgh in the past, but it never worked out. He is a proven winner and someone that would push Pickett for his job.
Ryan Tannehill could be a nice mentor signing to push Pickett
Another realistic option that could make sense for both sides is Ryan Tannehill. Many might not think highly of him, but he is a good enough quarterback right now who could come in and push Pickett more than Trubisky ever could. He got benched with the Titans this year after a troubling start to their offense. He is used to a similar style of offense that Pittsburgh wants to run.
Tennessee relies on their rushing attack, and Mike Tomlin would love for their offense to be that way. That opens the door for someone like Tannehill to become a solid starter who has been above average throughout his career. He is starting to get older, so there might be slim chances for him elsewhere around the league.
The Titans seem ready to move onto younger options, so adding someone like this veteran presence would be a good addition for the Steelers. Tannehill has been on record in the past of not wanting to mentor young quarterbacks, but it seems like things have changed ever since Will Levis has taken over for Tennessee.
Signing Tannehill would mean the conversation to help Pickett's game progress would need to happen before it became official. All that plus his chance to become the starter for Pittsburgh if he is able to play past the level of Pickett. Tannehill is a sneaky option that could go under the radar this offseason. Keep an eye on his name the closer free agency gets.
Kyler Murray could be a tremendous buy low option for the Steelers
Electricity is missing from the black and gold's offense, so adding someone like Kyler Murray could add that spark. A lot of things would need to happen for this addition to become a potential reality this upcoming offseason. Right now, Murray is under contract with the Cardinals for the foreseeable future. He is coming off an injury and will finally return to action.
Rumors are swirling out of Arizona that the team wants to move on for him and start in a new direction. It seems like if they are in good position to add either Caleb Williams or Drake Maye in the draft, Murray will be on his way out of the desert. That is the first step to his availability for this upcoming offseason cycle.
He would then either have to be cut by the Cardinals or traded with a lowered cap hit that Arizona partially eats. All those situations would need to happen for the Steelers to show interest in this player. The finish of this season with how Pickett and Murray play will also be a big factor. That will make the decision easier to provide a push for Murray and Pickett.
Adding someone like Murray would send a shockwave around the NFL. It would seemingly mean that the Steelers are moving on from Pickett as the starter. The reality is that Murray is no slam dunk even though he has spurts throughout the year where he looks like Superman. This would be a huge outcome to the quarterback situation in Pittsburgh.