The Steelers' quarterback room has left a lot of people talking this offseason due to the severe turnover in the room. Naturally, this has led to a wide variety of hot takes about what the best and worst moves are and who should ultimately start for the team this year.
Some of these takes are worth talking about. Praise for adding to the quarterback room on the cheap is worth noting, who gets the starting role for the majority of the season between Justin Fields and Russell Wilson is important, and what this franchise does past 2024 is key to the long-term health of this football team.
For every good opinion and talking point though, there is an equally bad one. Just recently we heard someone claim that the team should trade Wilson to Minnesota and sign Ryan Tannehill for… reasons. However, Ben Maller of FOX Sports Radio has officially taken the crown of worst take on the Steelers quarterback situation, and it isn’t close at this point.
Maller came out and said the Steelers shouldn’t have traded Kenny Pickett this year, and instead should have just stuck it out with him. The logic? This team wouldn’t be any better or worse with Pickett at the helm than Wilson. While the Steelers may struggle this year, trading away Pickett was far and away one of their best moves this offseason.
The Steelers had to move on from Pickett
Heading into this offseason the Steelers had no choice but to move on from Pickett. While it wasn’t their original play, as they hoped that he would be willing to battle it out with Wilson for the starting role, simply just rolling him back out or providing him with low-level competition wasn’t going to cut it.
The Steelers didn’t want to just cut ties with Pickett either, but the writing was on the wall, and getting something for him this year is better than nothing. While the team was touting that it would be a competition as they have with Fields and Wilson now, more than likely it was Wilson’s job to lose.
It isn’t like you got nothing for Pickett either. The move up in the draft netted them Payton Wilson, which could prove important this year. The two seventh-round picks aren’t a lot, but they are at least additional capital to use in trades or to take shots on prospects with. Had Pickett continued to struggle or had sat as the backup this year, you wouldn’t get that kind of return next year.
Even if both Wilson and Fields wash out and are gone by next year, you are still in a better spot than with Pickett being at the helm. We have seen these mediocre quarterbacks catch fire occasionally and the cast around them allows them to play well. When you have success like that, it makes it harder to cut bait with the player.
Just look at the Giants and Daniel Jones. He had one above-average season right around when he was due to be extended and it earned him a heavy contract. Since then, his play has regressed to the norm and New York is constantly a bottom team in the league. As most quarterback contracts do, he takes up a lot of cap space and is hard to cut, which has hampered the team.
You won’t have that with Pickett at this point, and that is a positive. Both quarterbacks on the roster are free agents next year, which is a problem in one sense, but if they struggle, you aren’t committed past then. So no, staying pat with Pickett wasn’t the right move this year. You acquired two new faces with more potential to succeed at discounted prices. It was easily the right move for the team this year and for the future.