Steelers future at quarterback is as bleak as ever

The Pittsburgh Steelers will be in the market for a new quarterback for the first time since 2004 when the 2021 season concludes.  The prospects of finding a decent one in next year’s draft, or even free agency don’t look good at this time.  The draft hasn’t been as weak at this position in quite some time.  This will almost certainly be the first year since 2017 the first overall pick will not be a quarterback.  Some early mock drafts even have none going in the top ten.  As far as free agency goes, the news doesn’t get much better.  Names like Ryan Fitzpatrick, Andy Dalton, and Jameis Winston represent the best of a very bad crop.  So where does the next Steelers quarterback come from?  Let’s take a closer look at the options in next year’s off-season.

Free Agency:

Most years free agency at the quarterback position is not very good.  Very few teams allow any player with talent hit the free agent market.  2022 is no different.  Jamies Winston is probably the most viable starter in this group.  He has not had the sort of career take off some thought he might have under the tutelage of Sean Payton.  Still, this is a former number one overall pick with some exceptional arm talent. If the Steelers decide to go the free agent route, Winston may be the only viable option.

Mitch Trubisky is an intriguing cheaper option in free agency.  His struggles as a starter in Chicago are well documented.  It’s becoming increasingly clear however, that the coaching for the Bears is less than desirable. Matt Nagy is under fire for his handling of another high draft pick in Justin Feilds. Maybe a year away from the Nagy system, and all the pressure of being a high draft choice will have done Trubisky some good.  It’s risky to say the least, but in this free agent class Mitchell Trubisky might end up being a decent option.

The draft:

If you were a team planning on drafting your next quarterback in 2022, you may be out of luck.  It’s still early, but the consensus is this is not the year to grab a franchise player at that position.  Spencer Rattler was considered one of the top prospects, now he’s lost his starting job at Oklahoma.  It looks like Matt Corral now seems to be the best bet for first quarterback taken.  He is the type of athletic quarterback that Matt Canada would surely like in his offense.  He lacks ideal size and arm strength however.  Kevin Colbert has shown some interest in North Carolina’s Sam Howell.  Howell is an intriguing prospect with a good arm and very good accuracy.  He is on the smaller side being only around 6’1”.  Malik Willis is an elite athlete at the position with an electric arm.  Willis has not had a great season so far however.  He also plays for a very small school at LIberty, further complicating the evaluation on him.

As we can see, the college quarterback situation is not ideal for teams needy at that position.  One of these prospects could pop, but figuring out the right one is the challenge.  Given the Steelers quarterback evaluation in recent drafts, we wouldn’t be overly  hopeful they could find the diamond in the rough here.  Let’s not forget Colbert insisted the Steelers had a first round grade on Mason Rudolph in the 2018 draft.

Trade:

This is the route where there may be an abundance of top tier talent available for the Steelers quarterback situation.  Players like Aaron Rogers, Russell Wilson, and Deshaun Watson should all be available at the right price.  A little less than a year ago, here at this site we would have given the Texans just about anything they wanted to get Deshaun Watson.  Trade proposal: TJ Watt, Terrell Edmunds, 2 First Round picks for Deshaun Watson  Twenty two sexual assault cases later, this franchise probably wouldn’t take Watson for free.

Russell Wilson may indeed be planning on forcing his way out of Seattle, but Pittsburgh doesn’t sound like the kind of city he is looking for.  The Wilson’s seem to prefer a big city for their off the field interests.  He will most likely end up in a big market when all is said and done.

We all saw the googly eyes Mike Tomlin and Aaron Rogers were making towards each other during the Packers game.  There seems to be some real mutual interest there according to reports.  https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/aaron-rodgers-addresses-rampant-trade-speculation-that-hes-angling-to-end-up-with-the-steelers-in-2022/  Unfortunately after the way the Packers played without Rogers recently, they will almost certainly do anything they can to keep him.

Conclusion:

The Pittsburgh Steelers may have waited one season too long to pull the trigger on a new quarterback.  The 2021 draft class was far superior at that position than 2022 promises to be.  Several other players were available via trade or free agency last off-season. This team can’t possibly think they have the solution in house.  We have seen enough of Mason Rudolph now to know he’s not a long term solution.  We probably will never see any of Dwayne Haskins in 2022.  Certainly not enough to make any kind of judgment.

Unless this franchise can pull of a major deal for an Aaron Rogers or Russel Wilson, we might very well be in for another season with Ben Roethlisberger at the helm.  Like it or not, that scenario becomes more and more likely every day.