It’s no surprise that the Pittsburgh Steelers have been in quarterback purgatory ever since Ben Roethlisberger retired. They’ve had what seems like hundreds of players in the quarterback room in hopes to be the next great Steelers signal caller, but they’ve had no real or significant success with all of the options they’ve exercised. With the draft over and the quarterback room looking different from last season (again) , who do the Steelers have in the quarterback room and what if this underwhelming room is a part of a bigger plan?
The Steelers brought back a familiar face and fan favorite in Mason Rudolph after he had a short stint in Tennessee last year. Rudolph will more than likely enter the season as the starter for Pittsburgh, which is underwhelming given the state of the other teams quarterbacks in the AFC North. Most notably, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson. But that is not to say that Rudolph can’t play or compete. It was only around two years ago when Rudolph took a very underwhelming offensive Steelers team to the playoffs against the Buffalo Bills,where they lost 31-17. Rudolph finished the game with 22 completions out of 39 attempts for a completion percentage of 56.4%, 229 yards, two touchdowns, one interception and one fumble lost. That was with a considerably worse Pittsburgh Steelers offense that did not have DK Metcalf. It will be interesting to see how a player like Rudolph can play with the likes of Metcalf, Pickens, Freiermuth and newly drafted running back Kaleb Johnson all together on the field.
The Pittsburgh Steelers made a very intriguing draft pick when they decided to draft quarterback Will Howard in the 6th round. Like a lot of other Yinzers, I had a bunch of questions. Did this mean the Pittsburgh Steelers were no longer going after Aaron Rodgers? Do the Steelers view Howard as a solid backup or something more? Sure, the team Howard was on in college was absolutely loaded. Sure, Howard is raw, but that doesn’t mean that he can’t be turned into something greater. Howard’s strengths are also greater than his weaknesses. Howard is an excellent runner of the football, has a very good arm, is accurate, and makes very good decisions, especially when in the pocket. Arthur Smith turned Ryan Tannehill into one of the better starting quarterbacks in the league not too long ago. Who is to say lightning can’t strike twice?
To close out the quarterback room, the Pittsburgh Steelers have former seventh round pick of the Miami Dolphins Skyler Thompson as their third quarterback. Thompson was a marginal prospect coming out of college. He hasn’t played a lot at the NFL level and possesses decent accuracy, average arm strength and below average decision-making. Where Thompson excels is in his mobility. Thompson is a decent player to have in your quarterback room to fill out that final position, but he won’t be getting much playtime unless injuries play a major role in the quarterback room this year.
Overall, the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback room is not exactly great. They lack that true elite talent that they came to expect every week with Ben Roethlisberger under center. But I believe the Steelers have a plan. The 2026 quarterback class is supposed to be a lot better in terms of talent and elite franchise potential. The Steelers have eleven total draft picks currently in the 2026 NFL draft, four of them being compensatory picks. With the draft in Pittsburgh next season and the Steelers having a nice amount of draft picks to play around with, the Pittsburgh Steelers could very easily spend some of that capital to acquire one of those future signal callers in Pittsburgh. Maybe Penn State’s Drew Allar. Maybe LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier. Maybe Clemson Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik. Maybe even Arch Manning of Texas?
Of course, all of this is complete speculation right now. But with the Steelers still searching for a franchise quarterback, and with the draft in Pittsburgh next year, it makes too much sense for the Steelers to not take that big jump as an organization to get their next possible franchise quarterback who could potentially put the Pittsburgh Steelers back on the top of the football world.
(photo courtesy of ESPN)