The Steelers season is officially over, and with the offseason now the focus of this team, I wanted to take some time to break down this team position by position. This will be both a primer for who will stay or go in the offseason as well as who could be added. This series will go position by position as we head toward the new league year.
We start with the quarterback room, and it is one of the biggest question marks on the team as of now. Ideally, this is a unit that would have provided some answers, but we head into 2024 with nothing resolved. Here is my offseason breakdown of the quarterback room.
Steelers QB room assessment
There was arguably no bigger disappointment on this team this season than the play of their quarterback room. The team took the last offseason to build an offense that wasn’t even going to rely on elite quarterback play. The hope was for Kenny Pickett to take some steps forward in a very forgiving offense.
That never occurred. Sure, Matt Canada limited this offense, but even after he was let go, Pickett still struggled to make an impact. In total, Pickett threw for just over 2000 yards and added six scores to four interceptions. Those aren’t stats that are going to win you games.
That wasn’t the only issue with the room either. Veteran backup Mitch Trubisky had to step into the starting role, and on paper, that shouldn’t have been a huge drop off considering his contract and the play of Pickett. Instead, Trubisky led the Steelers along their worst stretch of the season.
The only bright spot was Mason Rudolph. No, he wasn’t elite, but he played the position like the Steelers had schemed it up. He allowed the run game to handle the brunt of the workload while attacking the middle of the field taking some vertical shots to keep opposing defenses honest. He was the best of the bunch, albeit that isn’t saying a lot.
Frankly, I don’t think you can say the franchise option is on this team, and if you don’t have that guy, you need to find him. That is easier said than done, and with a later draft pick, it may not be in the cards this year. That said, this position as a whole was a letdown.
Steelers inhouse QB options
The Steelers have only the aforementioned three quarterbacks on their offseason roster. Of those three, only Rudolph is set to become a free agent and will need a new contract if he were to be brought back. The team traditionally carries three quarterbacks during the season and four in camp, so some work needs to happen.
Pickett is the easiest name to figure out. Still in the middle of his rookie deal, there is no reason to move on from him. While his play hasn’t been good, you still have three years of control over him. This team is too proud to admit defeat more than likely, so he’s locked into a roster spot.
Trubisky is a different story. He failed to perform well when forced into action, and considering his contract, it is hard to justify keeping him around. He should be cut, and the only question is how what his total savings will be. An outright release saves this team almost 3 million dollars. A post-June 1st designation kicks the can down the road but saves this team over 5 million this season.
Rudolph becomes the only question mark for this team. A pending free agent, one has to think that he will have some sort of a market unlike a year ago. While his play wasn't dynamic, he was a bright spot when called into action.
The issue is that even backup quarterbacks fetch a nice price. I have my doubts about Rudolph as a long-term option, so paying him on a new deal is a risk. That said, as you will soon see, the Steelers options this year aren’t that great. The team may have to bite the bullet and give him more than he deserves in order to provide legitimate competition.
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.
Steelers QB options in the draft
In an ideal world, the Steelers would enter this draft class, take advantage of the deep quarterback room, and nab the face of the franchise. With four top prospects, any one of Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, or Micheal Penix would be upgrades in this quarterback room.
The issue is that there is a real chance that all four quarterbacks are off the board within the first ten picks, and trading up 10-15 spots would cost an arm and a leg. That said if the team thinks that they have their guy, they need to secure him.
More than likely that would be either Daniels or Penix, as Williams and Maye will be gone within the first few picks. It would mortgage the future, but if Penix or Daniels checks all of the boxes, they could be a target.
Other notable top names include Bo Nix and J.J. McCarthy, who will likely be there at pick 20. That said, both of those players have issues that limit them as prospects. It would feel like settling if either of those quarterbacks got the nod in the first round.
If you ignore the position in the first round, you could risk taking a day two-player. There aren’t a lot of great names here, and the track record isn’t strong for day-two quarterbacks. You can throw a dart on day three options, but expecting anything more than a backup isn’t wise.
What I would do at QB for Steelers
Looking over all of the options, the Steelers are in quite a bind. I personally don’t see Pickett as the future of his franchise, as his early struggles have put him behind where you would normally want to see a young quarterback be. Unfortunately, having a higher first-round pick doesn’t help matters for this team.
I’m personally against grabbing a free-agent quarterback. While Cousins is a good player, he will cost a lot and seems destined to return to the Vikings. Ryan Tannehill is a good fit but won’t come cheap. Baker Mayfield could be a reclamation project, but risking all this cap space for a player that likely doesn’t move the needle much doesn’t make sense.
A journeyman is fine on paper, but I think I would rather stick with Rudolph assuming the money is similar. Either option pushes Pickett, and assuming Pickett loses, they set us up to draft our quarterback of the future within the next year or two.
Draft-wise, with so many needs, it is hard to root for a major trade-up to land one of the top two quarterbacks. Yes, you need a great quarterback to compete, but a great quarterback prospect will fail if the rest of the team around him is bad. There are too many needs to justify such a move.
What I will have my eye on is either Daniels or Penix (I prefer Daniels) slipping out towards the end of the first ten picks. A move up, while still costly, won’t break the bank, and you still get a top prospect to work with. Outside of that, perhaps a day three pick to see if you can get something to stick and look to the undrafted ranks to help fill out the roster.
I’ll be honest, until this quarterback issue is fixed, the Steelers are in trouble. You aren’t going to constantly compete without good quarterback play, but the team isn’t in a great spot to get that kind of talent this offseason. There are a lot of options, but not a lot of routes that make sense on paper.