Today marks a the start of a new NFL season and with that being said the Steelers now enter the new league year
without a starting quarterback on their roster. Earlier today, they brought
back a familiar face, Mason Rudolph, who agreed to terms on a two-year, $8
million deal. That’s all fine and dandy, but the reality of the situation is
they still need a starter under center. Trust and believe, it will not be
Rudolph! All the talk regarding the Steelers' next signal caller is circulating
the NFL media by the hour, and it’s clear that everyone is saying it will come
down to the likes of either Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson. I, like most, can
make an argument for either passer to be the Steelers’ guy going forward.
However, they are not the only two available quarterbacks that fit Arthur
Smith’s system. There is a plethora of other options for them to choose from if
they miss out on Rodgers and don’t re-sign Wilson.
I will start
with the guy who is probably the most familiar with the scheme that Arthur
Smith and the Steelers run: recently released from the Raiders, Desmond Ridder. Ridder was originally
drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in 2022 when Smith was their head coach. As
their starter for over two seasons, he went 8-9, threw for 3,544 yards, 14 TDs,
12 INTs, completed 64% of his passes, and had a passer rating of 84.1. Those
are not exactly the greatest of numbers, though they also aren’t terrible
either. It was only 17 games, but the bottom line here is that he is currently
a free agent and is arguably the most experienced QB within Arthur’s offense.
Plus, Ridder never had the pleasure of playing with a wideout as experienced as
D.K. Metcalf. I think this would realistically be the Steelers’ best option
outside of Russell Wilson or Aaron Rodgers, and I think they should be in the
mindset of "what-ifs" so that you don’t wind up potentially going
into the 2025 season with either Mason Rudolph or Skylar Thompson as your
starting option.
The second
quarterback on my list that could possibly fill the Steelers' void at QB (if
they don’t sign Rodgers or Wilson) would be Trey Lance. Hear me out, I realize that Lance doesn’t
have a whole lot of playing experience, which is why if they were to sign him,
you don’t waste any time. If it came to this, you would start developing him
quickly, see where he is with his progression from Dallas, then pick up from
there. He isn’t going to be a complete game changer, but you can’t say he
wouldn’t be one of, if not the most, intriguing options. He clearly has loads
of upside, but he will need to gain that next level of confidence and fine-tune
his mechanics. He has the talent to take off and make defenders miss with his
quickness and speed when needed and is a great fit for what Smith wants their
offense to look like. Plus, they would save loads of cap space to add another
skilled position like J.K. Dobbins, Cam Akers, Nick Chubb, or maybe another
receiver such as Stefon Diggs or Cooper Kupp.
My third
quarterback option for Pittsburgh may leave many scratching their heads. This
last guy hasn’t yet started a single game and is currently the number three QB
on the New England Patriots. He is under contract, which would obviously
require the Steelers to trade for the said player: Joe Milton III, who spent three years at Michigan prior
to transferring to Tennessee, where the incredibly gifted quarterback passed
for 4,159 yards (4,664 scrimmage yards), 32 TDs (39 total), with only 5 INTs.
The Tennessee alumnus has proven elite arm strength with deep-ball potential,
possesses great mobility, athleticism, and has immensely high upside. He can
certainly develop into a strong starter in this league given his accuracy and
decision-making improvements over time. Milton would probably give the Steelers
the best option in the long term, but would more than likely also command more
coaching time and development in the short term.
When it comes
to the main two guys that have been linked to the Steelers this offseason,
Rodgers and Wilson, I think that Rodgers could be a very good option as their
starter, but I also believe that he is going to command more cap space and
could possibly have a lower floor than Russell at this point in his career.
Yes, Aaron still had good numbers last season, even though he didn’t look 100%
healthy and was playing like somewhat of a shell of himself at times. Clearly,
the signing of wideout D.K. Metcalf makes their offense a bit more attractive;
however, they did have a relatively bad O-line last year (PFF ranked Pit O-line
#21), ranked 12th in rushing, allowed the 9th most sacks in the league (49),
and haven’t yet replaced their two starting running backs from last season
(Najee Harris signed a 1-year deal with LAC & Jaylen Warren is a restricted
free agent). I should also note that Pittsburgh lost their starting left tackle
to the Titans, which could also prove problematic for an aging, less mobile
passer like Rodgers. Lastly, even though there are some similarities in the
Steelers' offense and what Rodgers likes to play in, the fact of the matter is
that he would need to take some time to adapt to fully thrive in that scheme.
With a 40-plus-year-old man and a woeful offensive line, I don’t know that
would be the equivalent of a good mix.
The final
player is none other than Russell Wilson.
Last season was up and down for Wilson. He started very well, which is why they
never pivoted back to Justin Fields, though he was also playing well. I feel
the belief was that Fields limited the ceiling of what their offense could be,
while with Russ at the helm, they were putting up more points per game.
Obviously, they didn’t exactly light the league on fire, and they ended up in
the playoffs; however, they went one and done. The Steelers finished the season
on quite the downward spiral, losing 5 straight games. Wilson only threw 16
touchdowns last season while putting up just 2,482 passing yards. Those are
porous numbers for a seasoned vet like Wilson. The one good thing you could say
is that he limited his mistakes, turning the ball over seven times and only
tossing 5 interceptions. You also can’t blame him for all their failures last
year. George Pickens didn’t play up to par several times throughout their
season and he was Russ’ number one target. They also left a lot to be desired in
the run game, and as I previously mentioned, the offensive line allowed the
ninth most sacks leaguewide.
If you asked me
who I believe is the better QB, I would say Rodgers, but the real question here
is who is the best fit for this team with the player personnel, scheme, and
everything else regarding the franchise in its current state? To answer that, I
would simply say, it’s Russell Wilson,
no question! The man already has great chemistry with Metcalf from their years
together in Seattle. He also started to gain some kind of traction with
Pickens, Calvin Austin, Pat Freiermuth, and knows the playbook. It may not be
the best situation for the fans of Steel City, but in terms of the best
available options plus their placement in the draft, let’s be real and come to
the realization that Russell Wilson gives them the best possible chance to win.
Regardless of who they wind up having as the starter next season, the
Pittsburgh Steelers will not be Super Bowl contenders because they are just not
there yet, and any of the guys they choose to install into their system will
not be able to bring them there in one season.