4 passable trade offers Patriots would have to accept for Mac Jones

2. Steelers still need somebody to compete with Kenny Pickett...

The Pittsburgh Steelers can and should do better. Arthur Smith arrives in the Steel City with a complicated reputation. Not because of his excellent work as Tennessee Titans OC once upon a time, but because of his completely impotent offense as head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. Despite a robust collection of talented playmakers — Bijan Robinson, Drake London, Kyle Pitts — Smith could never put the pieces together. The primary reason was his lack of trust in the Falcons' QBs.

Now he takes charge of a Steelers offense with an open-ended question mark at the QB position. The Steelers continue to express faith in Kenny Pickett, but he has not done enough to earn the job outright through two seasons. The Steelers' offseason priority is finding the right QB to compete for the job with Pickett. While the Steelers should probably prioritize an established veteran's poise or a rookie's upside, there is some logic behind landing Jones at a discount price.

We once again circle back to Jones' rookie season and the absolutely catastrophic nature of his decomposed relationship with Belichick. That doesn't get talked about enough when discussing the 25-year-old's future. We know, for a fact, that Belichick lost faith in Jones and went out of his way to tear his young QB down. That sort of toxic work environment will always carry over to the field. You don't have to believe Jones will make the Pro Bowl next season, but the idea that he might thrive in a better environment is not unreasonable.

The Steelers experienced their share of locker-room turmoil last season, but Mike Tomlin generally runs a tight ship. Pittsburgh operates with an extremely high floor as a franchise. The defense is savage, and the offense can't get much worse than last season. If Jones can out-pace Desmond Ridder, the Steelers might have a proper QB competition on their hands. Pickett and Jones are on the same timeline at least, for better or worse.