The Pittsburgh Steelers probably still have a playoff-caliber roster, but they don't yet have an answer at the game's most crucial position.
Russell Wilson will likely start for the New York Giants next season, while Justin Fields appears poised to take QB1 snaps across town for the New York Jets. Mason Rudolph has returned to the fold in Pittsburgh, but he's proven his ceiling is as a viable NFL backup signal-caller.
Aaron Rodgers remains a free agent, and the Steelers remain optimistic that they can sign him. However, that is far from a done deal and it comes with a clock that expires around the time training camp arrives.
Team owner Art Rooney II said on Tuesday, April 1, that the franchise is "hearing that he’s headed in our direction" and that the Steelers "feel pretty good about it at this time." But even if Rodgers works out, he is not the MVP player he was a few seasons ago and will turn 42 years old in December.
All these circumstances appear to point to one eventuality: Pittsburgh biting the bullet and using a meaningful pick to select a QB. The Steelers own the No. 21 selection in this month's NFL draft and could potentially use it to acquire such a player.
But Ben Roethlisberger, the last quarterback Pittsburgh hit on in the first round back in 2004, just advised the franchise against taking that path.
"I don't think they should," Roethlisberger said Tuesday on his "Footbahlin With Ben Roesthlisberger" podcast. "I would either go O-line or D-line. Maybe D-line, because you got rid of [Larry] Ogunjobi. You got Cam [Heyward], who played great last year, but he's on the tail [end of his career]. I mean, how many years does he have left?"
Roethlisberger played 18 seasons for Pittsburgh, leading the team to three Super Bowl appearances and winning two rings. His last year with the franchise was 2021.
The Steelers selected QB Kenny Pickett with the 20th pick in the 2022 draft, but traded him to the Philadelphia Eagles ahead of last season. Pickett is now a member of the Cleveland Browns.
It is unclear what QBs Pittsburgh might be able to draft if the team stays put at No. 21. The ceiling is probably Shedeur Sanders, largely considered the No. 2 QB prospect in this class, while the floor could be as low as the fourth signal-caller off the board behind Cam Ward, Sanders and Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss, who has developed into the QB3 on several prominent big boards.
