The Pittsburgh Steelers have a major decision to make at the quarterback position.
Two years ago, they drafted Kenny Pickett in the first round of the NFL Draft and he showed promise during his rookie season.
But Pickett appeared to regress in 2023 before an injury led to the Steelers starting Mitch Trubisky, but eventually benching him for Mason Rudolph.
When Pickett was healthy again at the end of the season, Mike Tomlin opted to continue with Rudolph as the starter.
There’s still hope Pickett could be the future franchise QB for the Pittsburgh Steelers but it feels like the franchise needs to make a major move and bring in a proven veteran who can help the former Pitt Panthers signal caller grow and develop as a NFL passer.
In his press conference at the end of the 2023 season, head coach Mike Tomlin said that he believes the 2024 starter is already on the roster. But can the Steelers afford to hope Pickett magically figures it out in time to thrive in 2024?
Steelers reporter Mark Madden also recently predicted that not only would the Steelers stick with Kenny Pickett, they would also not re-sign Mason Rudolph to protect the young QB in his third season.
It remains unclear what the Pittsburgh Steelers brass has planned for the NFL’s most important position for 2024, but there are a bevy of options who could help a talented roster win now, while possibly helping the young QB they hoped would be their franchise guy grow in the meantime.
There are going to be options out there to acquire a new QB.
Kirk Cousins will be a free agent. Baker Mayfield will be a free agent. Wilson could be available either through trade or if he’s released. Justin Fields is also expected to be traded.
With all of those options out there, it would make sense for the team to at least consider trying to upgrade at QB.
Pittsburgh Steelers Named Top Landing Spot For Russell Wilson
After the fall out with Sean Payton, it seems like Russell Wilson is going to have some options to choose from for where he’ll play next season. One of those is Pittsburgh.
The Denver Broncos benched Wilson for the last two weeks of the 2023 season, seemingly signaling the end of his time with the team. Meanwhile, the Steelers were one of the many teams in the league who didn’t have things play out the way they expected at QB during the season.
That could make the two a good match for each other according to one NFL analyst.
Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine believes the Pittsburgh Steelers are actually the best landing spot for the former All-Pro QB.
Ballentine believes the Steelers would give Wilson the starting opportunity he needs at this point in his career while he would fit what Pittsburgh is looking for at QB to change their offense in 2024.
Wilson has struggled in his two seasons with the Broncos, but that doesn’t mean he can’t succeed in Pittsburgh.
During his season-ending press conference, Tomlin said that he wants to see a more dynamic offense next season than the team had in 2023.
While we shouldn’t expect to see the Pittsburgh Steelers get the same version of Russell Wilson that dominated for years in Seattle with his ability to extend plays outside the pocket, scramble for big gains and also hit receivers deep downfield in stride, the new offensive coordinator could use a similar approach to how the Lions revived Jared Goff’s career.
The team’s approach with Wilson actually shouldn’t be much different from what it would be with Pickett.
Pittsburgh would still likely make their run game a focus on offense with Najee Harrisand Jaylen Warren having combined for over 1800 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns in 2023.
While there are a lot of moving parts that need to be sorted out between now and when the Steelers could make a move for a QB, Russell Wilson makes a ton of sense there.