The Pittsburgh Steelers have a lot of questions surrounding the offensive side of the ball headed into the 2024 season. Beyond those surrounding coaching and skill position personnel, the largest source of speculation continues to be under center. The Steelers named a winner of their quarterback competition already, but may be looking ahead for an alternate solution should the players on their roster fail.
After suffering through poor quarterback play in 2023, the Steelers remade their depth chart in the 2024 offseason, replacing Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph and Mitch Trubisky with Russell Wilson, Justin Fields and Kyle Allen. Though both players have shown they have what it takes to lead the offense, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, believes that the Steelers could hit the reset button again should they struggle.
“The Steelers could choose to fire both [quarterbacks], depending on what happens this year. They cleared out the quarterback depth chart after a playoff berth in 2023. They could do it again.”
Florio would go on to mention that not only could they remake the room, but the Steelers could have an ideal target in free agency. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, who awaits an extension of his current contract, could look to take a discount in hopes of finding a more desirable location to win a Super Bowl.
“After having Jerry Jones try to persuade him for years to take less than he could get elsewhere, Dak could stick it to the Cowboys by choosing to take less from one of their biggest AFC rivals.”
A move like this would certainly be interesting for the Steelers, given the fact that none of their quarterbacks are under contract headed into the 2025 campaign. The black and gold would be able to move on with relative ease, and with the team expected to get a boost in cap space, would be able to make a more intriguing offer to the former fourth -ound pick. The outlying question on all of this, is if Head Coach Mike Tomlin and the Steelers would make an aggressive move like this, or trust in the Steeler Way.
Steelers’ Fate Remains In The Hands Of Their Quarterbacks
The Steelers’ quarterback room in 2024 is the perfect definition of low-risk, high-reward. Pittsburgh paid Wilson the veteran minimum of $1.2 million, and sent a conditional draft pick to the Chicago Bears for Fields.
After Wilson was named the starting quarterback, the Steelers are a step closer to that pick remaining a sixth-rounder unless Fields were to play 51% of the snaps in 2024; in which, it would become a fourth. Neither player is costing the Steelers substantial money, but if one succeeds, could solve the team’s issues at quarterback.
It’s not often that a potential franchise quarterback becomes available. This year Wilson and Fields appeared for the Steelers, and signs certainly appear to point that Prescott will be looking for a new home in 2025. On paper, Prescott would be an immediate upgrade over anything Pittsburgh has on the roster, or would be able to add in the NFL Draft, but luring him away from the most valuable franchise in the NFL is easier said than done.
Since his selection in the 2016 draft, Prescott has accumulated just shy of 30,000 passing yards while posting a touchdown to interception ratio of 202-74. The critique of Prescott has been the lack of postseason success, but the argument can be made it’s less his fault and more on coaching. That being said, he still is seen as an elite option at quarterback.
However, Tomlin went into this season intending to keep at least one of Wilson and Fields on the roster long-term. Steelers fans are hoping that one of these players can break free of their reputations at their previous stops and cement themselves as the long-term quarterback. The last thing the Steelers want is to be trapped in quarterback purgatory, so if Prescott is the answer, it certainly should be explored.
