BREAKING NEWS:HOW THE STEELERS SHOULD HANDLE THE ISSUES AT QUATARBACK…
The Pittsburgh Steelers offence enters the summer with a lot of questions around the quarterback position after a wild 2023 campaign.
The star-studded defence of Pittsburgh’s 10-7 squad carried the club to the postseason, but the team’s dubious offence had nothing to cheer about. They suffered a similar fate in the playoffs, falling short of the Buffalo Bills 31–17 in their sixth consecutive playoff game. In addition to throwing a critical red zone interception, Mason Rudolph only managed 229 yards, demonstrating the Steelers’ ongoing quarterback woes.
Head coach Mike Tomlin—who is unlikely to be departing Pittsburgh anytime soon—as well as the Steelers front staff will have a difficult choice heading into the summer in light of the team’s quarterbacking woes. Prior to the season, Kenny Pickett was in charge, but an injury eventually made him give up the starting position. Leading into the postseason, Mason Rudolph gained some traction by stopping a now-healthy Pickett and assigning the first-round selection to backup duty.
Pittsburgh will now have to decide whether to stick with one of their three quarterbacks, Mitchell Trubisky, Rudolph, or Pickett, or search for a new signal caller to lead their offence via free agency and the NFL Draft—which would happen for the second time in three years.
To determine the best course of action for the Steelers in 2024, let’s weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each choice.
The 2023 season saw lackluster numbers from second-year man Kenny Pickett, who had elevated expectations after a stellar preseason showing. A large portion of Pickett’s struggles, and the offense as a whole, could be attributed to an abysmal coaching performance from offensive coordinator Matt Canada.
Canada’s tenure in Pittsburgh saw an abundance of struggles from the offensive unit, leaving many to believe Pickett was set up for failure in the poor scheme. Pickett’s performance post-Canada largely remained a mystery due to an injury that sidelined him for several weeks before he was ultimately benched in favor of Mason Rudolph, who posted a series of impressive performances to squeeze the Steelers into the playoffs.
Pickett enjoyed a solid 278-yard performance in Pittsburgh’s first game after firing Canada, leading the Steelers to a 16-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals and completing an impressive 73% of his passes in the contest. This, unfortunately, was all the Steelers organization could see from their former first-round pick after firing Canada.
The small sample was by far Pickett’s best showing of the campaign, but after two seasons of check downs, missed reads, and just 13 TD passes in 25 games, one solid showing in which your team only scored 16 points might not be enough to keep Pittsburgh from seeking outside help.
Pickett’s biggest issue has been his inability, or, unwillingness, to throw past the sticks and take shots down the field. His 3.1 air yards per attempt in 2023 put him in some pretty strange company at the bottom of the barrel. For comparison, Rudolph’s number sits at 4.0, which would be a top 10 mark if he had thrown enough passes to qualify.
Overall, Pickett’s sophomore season proved to be disappointing, but one has to wonder if the Bengals game in Week 12 could have been the start of something good for the young quarterback.
Immediately following Pickett’s injury, the Steelers suffered a three-game losing streak under Trubisky’s stewardship, losing back-to-back games to, at the time, a pair of two-win teams in the Arizona Cardinals and New England Patriots. Following Trubisky’s benching, Mason Rudolph caught fire and ultimately made his case for the starting job.
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