The Steelers offseason is all over the place.
The highlights of free agency so far:
• Recycling a quarterback they never trusted previously.
• Getting a second-string running back to go with their other second-string running back.
• Adding a 34-year-old cornerback.
The Steelers might sign a 33-year-old fullback, which fits their outdated concept of football. It’s time to develop a new Franco and Rocky!
It’s long since past time to sort out the Steelers’ quarterback situation, which has been in shambles since Ben Roethlisberger retired.
Mason Rudolph is back. If he starts, I’ve got no problem.
The quarterback play Rudolph provided in the last four games of the 2023 season was as good as anything Russell Wilson or Justin Fields did last year, probably better. It was superior to Kenny Pickett’s entire tenure as a Steeler.
Rudolph won the final three regular-season games in ‘23 to squeeze the Steelers into the playoffs. It wasn’t hero ball, but it was clutch. (Then the Steelers lost their first playoff game. Of course.)
Rudolph, 29, never really got a fair shake during his six seasons in Pittsburgh.
He probably won’t get one this time around, either.
Mike Tomlin says he wants volunteers, not hostages. But the Steelers are currently held hostage by Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers is dragging out the decision on where he plays in 2025 as long as possible, like any experienced narcissist would. Keeps all eyes on him.
The New York Giants would likely pay the most.
Minnesota would provide the best chance to win and also a Brett Favre-type vibe: Go from Green Bay to the New York Jets and fail, go to Minnesota and do better.
I’m not sure what the Steelers have to offer Rodgers, but everybody wants to play for Coach T. Did you know he’s never had a losing season?
Perhaps Rodgers wants to go someplace where he won’t look like a fool, but that place doesn’t exist on Rodgers’ flat earth.
The Steelers should tell Rodgers to kiss off. Have some dignity.
Start Rudolph for a year. These Steelers are going nowhere, anyway.
Use the cap space provided by not having a big-ticket quarterback to build a better team around your long-term QB, who you would likely draft in 2026. Preferably after going 4-13 this coming campaign.
Good quarterbacks on that affordable rookie contract are the lifeblood of team-building.
Think big picture. Think long-term, at long last.
But the Steelers don’t do that. So, they will keep making puppy-dog eyes at Rodgers and continue asking him to the prom.
You’ve got to try to win now for Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt, right?
Wrong.
The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game in eight years. Heyward and Watt were part of those teams, and part of those defenses that collapsed in the playoffs. Who’d they ever beat?
You can’t be held captive by nostalgia, something the Penguins have perfected.
The Steelers should pursue the path and timetable that’s best for the entire franchise.
The quarterback carousel says a lot about the Steelers.
Sam Darnold went to Seattle, the team DK Metcalf left. Sure, Seattle paid Darnold a ton. Maybe the Steelers should have. It’s an important position.
Wilson met with Cleveland. They could have a quarterback tandem of Wilson and Pickett. Ah, help me!
What if Rodgers picks the moribund three-win Giants over the Steelers?
Fields didn’t trust the Steelers. That’s one reason he left. Can’t blame him. (What’s Rudolph thinking?)
Pittsburgh isn’t a preferred destination for good players anymore.
Only one thing can save the day: A 33-year-old fullback.