The Pittsburgh Steelers have failed to escape the news cycle since a Wild Card loss to the Buffalo Bills last season. The biggest headlines surrounded the hiring of Arthur Smith to be the new play-caller, a complete revamp of the quarterback room, and questionable wide receiver depth after sending Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers. Selecting Kenny Pickett in the first round back in 2022 will always now be looked at as a failure, but optimism still remains in the Steel City with Super Bowl champion Russell Wilson coming aboard in 2024, as well as young signal-caller Justin Fields joining the organization.
In a recent chat hosted by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Brian Batko, a fan chimed in and asked a detailed question regarding the quarterback situation. The individual was confident that the duo of Fields and Wilson can't be anywhere in the same conversation as Pickett.
"I know it’s a small sample size (and it’s only been football in shorts), but isn’t it readily apparent that both QB’s are light-years more NFL sound than that Kenny kid -- meaning they have more zip on the ball, more accurate and possess NFL arms? To this day, I’m still at a loss how the brass ever viewed this guy as a top 32 QB," user 'The Outlaw' wrote.
While many readers may certainly agree, Batko wasn't on the same page as the fan. He noted that Wilson's pedigree is impressive, but it's going way too far if one is saying that the Steelers are much better off with Wilson and/or Fields compared to Pickett.
"That seems like a stretch, but OK, I'll grant you that Super Bowl-winning, 13th-year veteran is ahead of where Kenny Pickett was in practice," Batko wrote.
It's not absolutely crazy to believe that Pickett could have had the chance to thrive in Smith's offense. Mason Rudolph performed extremely well after Matt Canada was fired and Pickett was playing his best football of the 2024 season without Canada calling the plays, but it only lasted six quarters due to an injury he suffered against the Arizona Cardinals.
Change is a good thing, and Pittsburgh has had a lot of it throughout the 2024 offseason. Looking ahead, however, the issue becomes the 2025 season and beyond. With both Wilson and Fields not under contract after 2024, there is a real possibility that the Steelers are stuck in quarterback purgatory. It gets even more complicated if Wilson plays well enough to warrant a substantial payday.
If the veteran performs well in his first season in the Steel City, he will likely demand a large contract that could very well take him to the end of his NFL career. That would leave Fields in limbo without any clear answer about his future as a signal-caller at the professional level. There are a lot of "what-ifs" when it comes to Pittsburgh's quarterback situation as training camp rapidly approaches.
It will take some time to assess the moves made by the organization and if they were the correct ones, but no one will really know what Pickett is truly made of if Jalen Hurts remains healthy for the Philadelphia Eagles throughout the year.
Steelers' Smith Could Be The Key To Unlocking Quarterbacks' Potential
Smith is a seasoned play-caller in the NFL and was fantastic in an offensive coordinator role with the Tennessee Titans in 2019 and 2020. If he can stick to a run-first, play-action approach and Pittsburgh's defense remains healthy, the offense could shock plenty of teams in 2024. It's fair to say that Pickett could have succeeded as well, but that ship has sailed. The future of the Steelers' quarterback position lies in the hands of Smith and his offensive game plan.
