Fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers have spent the early portion of the NFL offseason waiting to learn what the team will do about their quarterback situation.
They may have gotten an answer over the weekend.
On February 3, Arthur Smith gave his first interview as the offensive coordinator for the Steelers. In the interview with Steelers.com’s Missi Matthews, Smith talked about building a relationship with Kenny Pickett, referring to him as “the quarterback.”
“There’s a relationship that’s got to be built between me and Kenny,” Smith said. “And that’s so paramount between the play caller and the quarterback. The quarterback is obviously the one out there between the white lines, and there’s a trust that’s going to be built daily, and it goes both ways.
“I’ve got to earn Kenny’s trust and vice versa as we build this offense and all the things we want to work on, and we want him to work on and take command of this offense.”
Perhaps just as importantly, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Tim Benz pointed out that Mason Rudolph wasn’t mentioned a single time in the interview.
The comments on Pickett and lack of a mention of Rudolph has led to the belief that Pickett may already be considered the QB1 for the Steelers despite the team having said in the past that there would be a competition.
Pressure on Kenny Pickett
The first two seasons of Pickett’s career have been disappointing for the Steelers.
While he has earned a record of 7-5 as a starter in both seasons, his performances haven’t been as strong as his record.
He has thrown just 13 touchdowns in his 24 starts while throwing 13 interceptions. He also averages less than 200 passing yards per game in his starts.
Now it looks like the Steelers are going to give him one more season to prove that he deserves to remain their starter going further.
The pressure is on for Pickett, though. The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since 2016 and both the fans an ownership are growing impatient.
Rudolph was able to lead the team to the playoffs with three consecutive wins to close out the regular season, but fell short in the playoffs.
It showed that he isn’t the answer to end the Steelers’ drought, but if Pickett proves to also not be the answer in 2024, the Steelers will find themselves looking for a new QB in 2025.
Other Options if Mason Rudolph Leaves Steelers
If Rudolph isn’t a part of the Steelers’ plans, they’ll need to find somebody else to serve as the backup to Pickett.
We saw that Mitch Trubisky isn’t the answer during the 2023 season. That will leave them searching the free agent market for their backup.
Ryan Tannehill has become an obvious choice since Smith was hired. He was Smith’s QB for two years in Tennessee and has reached the end of his time as a starter in the NFL, but could be a good insurance plan for the Steelers.
Washington Commanders QB Jacoby Brissett has come up, with Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox calling him a good “bargain-bin” option. He has a lot of experience as both a backup and a starter and could provide competition for Pickett while not really being a threat to take his job.
Sam Darnold is also an interesting option who played the best football of his career last season when he had the opportunity to start for the Panthers. He has his own experience as a disappointing first-round QB but could give the Steelers future options.
They’ll need to consider what next year looks like if Pickett disappoints, but they still manage to hover around .500. Darnold at least gives them an option if Pickett isn’t the answer and they can’t get their hands on a franchise QB in 2025.
If the Steelers really have landed on Pickett as their QB1 for 2024, then what they do for a backup will become one of the most important decisions they make the rest of the offseason.
John Vaccaro covers the NFL for Heavy.com, focusing on the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. He has previously covered the NFL, NBA, MMA and college sports as an editor and writer at BroBible and FanSided.
