Steelers offseason positional primer: Quarterback options for 2024

Steelers free agent QB options

If the Steelers decide to grab a pending free-agent quarterback, their options are a bit mixed. As of this writing, there are a few names that would be potential upgrades for this offense. The issue becomes price and what they do with their own options.

Assuming Rudolph is brought back at a respectable pay increase and Trubisky is cut, I don’t think you go and sign a notable name. You frame it as Rudolph vs Pickett for the starting job in 2024. Not ideal, but manageable.

You can still add a veteran, but they will need to be a bottom-level name to fill out the depth chart. Logan Woodside, Matt Barkley, or Kyle Allen would all make sense for that role. They would be cheap, but they also aren’t going to move the needle in the room.

If you want to revamp the position though, you probably let Rudolph walk and sign a better free agent to compete with Pickett. You have the top-level name in Kirk Cousins and some intriguing fits behind him in Ryan Tannehill and Baker Mayfield. While you could frame a signing like that as competition, a big move like that is to bring in a starter and move Pickett permanently to the bench.

You could sign a transitional option, but that doesn’t make sense with Rudolph around. A player like Sam Darnold or Gardner Minshew would have similar results to Rudolph but likely at a higher price. There are quite a few valid quarterbacks in this free-agency group, but only a few actually make sense for the Steelers.