The Pittsburgh Steelers are smack in the middle of an apparent quarterback controversy headed into the 2024 season. They drafted Kenny Pickett out of the University of Pittsburgh during the 2022 NFL Draft. In 2023, Pickett, along with veterans Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph made up the quarterback room. The team released Trubisky recently and will need to soon decide on Rudolph as he enters free agency.
Even though Steelers President Art Rooney II and Head Coach Mike Tomlin have both alluded to the fact that while they aren’t closing the door, saying they feel the 2024 quarterback is already in the building, people are still talking about signing a free agent. The team has also said that they would like to keep Rudolph on the roster. Yet most of the beat reporters feel confident that the team intends to stand by Pickett during his third season.
This has the Steelers as a bit of a laughing stock with the national media according to some. The fact that the team seems to be satisfied with mediocre quarterback play is baffling. What most of those analysts cite is the amount of free agents that are available from which the Steelers can choose. This includes some older players such as Russell Wilson, Ryan Tannehill, and Kirk Cousins, but it also includes Justin Fields from the Chicago Bears, who is entering his fourth season in the league.
Are The Steelers Just Picking Up Other Teams’ Trash?
Remarkably enough, the opposite argument of taking Fields, rather than prioritizing keeping Rudolph, has baffled a former player and a member of the local media. Former Steelers offensive guard, Ramon Foster now co-hosts a podcast with Pittsburgh sports reporter Dejan Kovacevic called The Ramon Foster Show which airs on DK Pittsburgh Sports. On a recent episode, the two discussed the Steelers’ quarterback situation.
The two have made it no secret that they are huge fans of Rudolph. Foster and Rudolph played together for two seasons prior to Foster’s retirement in 2020. Recently, they had Rudolph as a guest on the show. During that episode, Rudolph shared that he hopes to be able to stay in Pittsburgh in spite of reports that he is looking for a fresh start.
Foster and Kovacevic are just stunned that the team is looking for a player like Fields, one who, according to Kovacevic, has a serious turnover problem. They noted that the Bears seem desperate to trade Fields and plan to draft Caleb Williams with the first pick of the 2024 NFL Draft.
“That’s another thing that we got to correct ourselves on too. If a team is dying to get rid of a guy, why are you on bended knee trying to take what they’re trying to throw away,” asked Foster.
Kovacevic said he finds it “hilarious” that anyone would be willing to take a player the Bears are begging other teams to take. Fields has shown to be remarkably athletic and was expected to be a tremendous dual-threat quarterback. The Bears have squandered Fields’ talent over the past three years and it is not clear if he is just not cut out for the pros, or if they have stunted his development. Either way, it is a risk not worth taking.
“THE BEARS have set him out on the front lawn, hoping someone will take him on garbage night,” emphasized Kovacevic.
This led them back to talking about Rudolph, who according to Kovacevic, was the top-rated Steelers quarterback for the last few weeks of the 2023 season, outranking Pickett. In his estimation, Rudolph may have saved Tomlin’s job. Before him taking over under center, the team appeared poised to lose out with Trubisky as quarterback. Kovacevic said he never expected Tomlin to turn to Rudolph and can’t believe now we are even discussing that he might have to compete against the “28th or 31st best quarterback in the league,” referring to Pickett.
#Bears QB Justin Fields calls Acrisure Stadium one of his favorite away stadiums – "Pittsburgh was lit"https://t.co/Dx17UTHLnY
— SteelerNation (@steelernation) February 21, 2024
This debate is a ways from over, but it appears the first hurdle to cross will be attempting to lock up Rudolph as soon as possible. Foster said he fully expects Rudolph’s agent to make the rounds at the upcoming NFL Combine, talking to coaches and GMs, making a case for his client. Rudolph will certainly court orders from other teams, he brought his career back from the dead at the end of 2023.
It is a given that Pickett will still be with the team so after the Rudolph decision the team will be left to pick up at least one other quarterback either via free agency or the draft and hopefully allow a true competition to take place. Tomlin has always said draft stock doesn’t matter, performance does and he is going to have a chance to put his money where his mouth is.
