Latest leak on Steelers QB plans will enrage Pittsburgh fans
The Pittsburgh Steelers squeaked into the NFL playoffs with a 10-7 record last season, though they stood no real chance against the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round. There are elite players on the defensive side of the ball, and Pittsburgh boasts one of the best skill position groups in the entire league.
However, an unsettled quarterback situation holds them back from greatness.
Pittsburgh used three underwhelming quarterbacks throughout the 2023 season. Kenny Pickett, a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, received the brunt of the starts and was poor, failing to move the ball for a star-studded offense with an average of 6.2 adjusted yards per pass attempt.
Mason Rudolph won all three of his games but is a backup-level quarterback whose career-adjusted yards per attempt average of 6.5 is far from impressive.
Finally, Mitchell Trubisky, a first-round bust from the Chicago Bears, lost both of his games and was abysmal. He won't be back next year.
The Steelers could start Mason Rudolph in 2024
Unfortunately, the Steelers could bring back both Rudolph and Pickett as starters next year, based on a recent report from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's veteran reporter Gerry Dulac.
Some in the building believe Rudolph should be brought back as an impending free agent and actually start next season over Pickett because he won those three games, outplaying the former No. 20 overall pick. Worse yet for Steelers fans, Dulac reports the franchise doesn't even want to sign a quarterback who aims to start games for them in 2024.
Basically, it sounds more and more like the Steelers want to work with Pickett and Rudolph as their two quarterback options, with even new offensive coordinator hire Arthur Smith implying the same regarding giving Pickett the first crack.
Both Rudolph and Pickett have years of underwhelming film and statistics, while the Steelers' offense has so many great players waiting to truly put up elite numbers with the right quarterback under center. Instead of working to find that quarterback, it sounds like Pittsburgh is going to take the complacent route with two players who don't have the qualities of a true franchise signal-caller. That risks the Steelers staying in the purgatory of being good enough to be in the playoff hunt but not nearly good enough to win a Super Bowl.