Who should be the Steelers' quarterback in 2024?

Cousins would cost a lot of money that could be spent elsewhere and he wouldn't come here to be a back up. If they bring him in, they're basically saying they give up on Pickett. I would expect them to see if there's a vet they can bring in to challenge Kenny but cost much less than starter cash. Fill holes on the offensive line in the draft and free agency and get a better offensive coordinator.

 

This, and I Love the new avatar

 

Kelce (at age 36) is under contract through 2024 with three void years beyond that, so I don't see him leaving Philly in the offseason. If they were to cut him they'd trigger a $12.5M cap hit unless they designate him a post June 1st cut, then they'd only save $1.5M and deal with some red in 2025.

Cousins is just too expensive for me for the role. Sportrac is placing his value at ~$39M/year, and while I don't know that he gets that much it's certainly too rich for the Steelers' blood in terms of their current 2024 cap outlook. If you're going to drop that kind of coin I'm assuming you're deeming Pickett dropping back on the depth chart, and if that's the case I think they'd be better off looking at their first pick in the draft.

That said, I'm all for replacing Tribusky as the veteran backup and see Minshew (estimated to be a $5M AAV signing) or Brisset ($8MM) as better options to serve as competition for the starting spot against Pickett. Mayfield ($15M AAV) is there, too, but probably too expensive and will expect more of a guarantee/leg up on the competition for the starter's spot.

 

Kelce strikes me as the type of guy that would retire instead of playing for another team, Cousins would cost at least 30 million a year, no way at his age and coming off a serious injury.

 

I don't want to turn into the Yankees in 2000's where they went after aging veterans who were past their prime. Kelce is great but now on the downside. Let's get a new center via the draft that can anchor the line for a decade.

 

If we want to win more games than we have the last 2 seasons, the answer to this question is not on the roster. Not sure we will draft high enough to get a day 1 starter, but also not 100% sure what options outside of a huge trade we have that will actually be the answer. I am fine with taking a shot on someone like Fields, but we have to make sure the upside is there for it to make sense... As for Free Agents, are guys like Mayfield and Minshew better than Kenny? Yes, by a longshot... but are they the answer? No. They are both Ryan Fitzpatrick type guys. Good enough to start on a team that doesn't have the long term answer, but also ISNT the long term answer.

There are a lot of questions at the position to be answered. It will be interesting to see what we do with it. It just can't be "nothing".

 

In terms of the starter, there is a very good chance it will be nothing.

 

Why to we HAVE to give him another year? Do we HAVE to coddle adults? We have given him ample opportunity to take this team and make it his, and his play has dictated that he can't. The organization (and fans) have made every excuse under the sun for him, but the reality is that he has started 24 games in this league and he's been mediocre to bad in just about every single one of them. 24 starts is no joke... and 15.9 PPG in those starts is not good enough.

Holding onto Kenny feels a lot like holding onto Canada. We know he ain't it, but we don't want to bench Kenny just the same as we didn't want to fire Canada. Instead we are going to choose to ride it out until the fans start losing faith? It's just going to end the same way, mid season benching/firing. We are going to waste all this time we could be out finding an actual solution that betters this organization.

 

We're going to pull another "Canada". Just ride it out and hope it works for the best, even when everything on the field tells us it isn't. Sad.

The only way Kenny can help us find the QB of the future is to start next season I guess. If our defense goes from 18PPG to 23PPG we become a 4 win team with Kenny under center REAL QUICK.

 

No, we don't know he ain't it. It doesn't look good so far, but plenty of quarterbacks have taken longer to figure things out, especially when saddled with a horrid offensive coordinator and an offensive line that can't pass-protect.

 

You are assuming a player is done developing two years into his career, ignoring the terrible offensive coaching and shaky pass protection and also the fact that it took him time for the light to come on in college. I'm not saying you don't bring in competition, but throwing another first-rounder or a ton of money at the position at this point doesn't make sense. At worst, ride it out with him for another year while you address the coaching staff and offensive line. If he still looks like what we've seen so far, you invest more heavily in 2025.

 

Yes we do. He can't put the ball in the endzone. In a league that intentionally favors the offense, he can't score points.... He played in 12 games this year. Played pretty much like garbage in the first 4, then won 5 of his next 8. He threw 2TD passes in that span. 2. In 8 games. We need to stop making excuses for him. Some of it HAS to be on him. It just HAS to be.

 

I get that some guys can take longer, but how long are we willing to wait for that "needle in the haystack" chance he turns out to be a capable NFL starter. You also have to consider the stage of his development too. He is very far behind, and could drastically improve and still not be good enough to be an NFL starter.

Not making a decision IS making a decision. We ride with Kenny, we are basically throwing the year in the bin and are hoping for a good pick in 2025 where we then are forced to go QB. I hate it. I just do.

 

Nobody said some of it isn't on him, but not all of it is. Nobody is saying he was good this year. The question is if he can be good with offensive coaches who aren't idiots and an offensive line that he can trust. A center who isn't disrupting his timing by firing snaps at his shoetops would be nice, too.

 

This team needs a center, one offensive tackle, probably a receiver, one or two defensive linemen, an inside linebacker, a safety, and a cornerback. They also need to overhaul the coaching staff. Tomlin could be out after 2024, too. If that is the case, better to work on fixing the rest of the team, and if Pickett still looks like this, you let the new coach develop his guy from day one. Putting a first-round quarterback in the same ****show that led to Pickett regressing this season seems ill-advised to say the least.

 

It would be nice to get a new center. It would be better to get a new guy at both positions.

 

I would also like to see him with a competent offensive coordinator and a head coach willing to take the shackles off. I think the poor pass protection, poor plan, and the directives from the coaches to play it safe took away his aggressiveness. I think that can be fixed, but I doubt it happens with Tomlin.

 

They're going to give Kenny another year with a new OC. It's the right call, IMO.

I don't see anyone worth taking as an FA unless its for a bonafide backup. Are Kirk Cousins and Ryan Tannehill gonna lead to us the promised land? I don't think so.

I'm not in love with this draft class. Drake Maye is the only one I like and we have no shot at him. I'm not convinced Daniels, Penix, Nix, etc are anything but system QB's.

 

I'm worried about the shackles though... They might be the reason why he isn't throwing for more yards, but it also might be the reason why he isn't throwing picks. Even with the poor game planning, scheme, etc., there were still loads of plays that could be made. I would be fine sticking with Pickett if I felt like he maximized what he could get out of the hand he was dealt, but he didn't. I would be fine sticking with Pickett if he showed some level of improvement to show that there may be a light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how distant, but he didn't.

The coaches called the game and directed him like they think he sucks. He plays the position like he sucks. He might just suck. When he sucks again for the 3rd year in a row, I'm sure it will be the new OC wasn't good enough, or Tomlin ruined him, the players around him suck... whatever.

Loads of good QB's overcome poor coordination. Bad players can't. Our QB is bad. I want him to be good. He just isn't, and it really isn't very difficult to see.

 

I have some level of interest in McCarthy (even though he's a Wolvering *puke*). He kinda gives off Kenny vibes (which is scary), but I think his ceiling is pretty high. He has a really high completion percentage against zone, has a lot of intangibles, and a lot of arm talent. Would be worth a shot maybe if available. He's young too.

Penix and Nix I am not that high on, tbh I am not super high on Caleb Williams too. Maye should be good. I think Daniels could be something, but we'd have to commit to building the offense around his skill set. The kid is electric. I wouldn't be upset if we went that route.

 

Nope, wasn't me and you that had the Cousins conversation. I hear you about the Cousins contract. For the record, my post was made with no salary considerations. It might not be practical to sign Cousins and Kelce. Hell, both could want nothing to do with us. It was more of a pipe dream.

As for all the holes we have, that's why I suggested signing Kelce and Cousins. Those are two holes that are now filled. If we can shore up the OL, get better playcalling from a new OC, stay healthy on defence and keep our WR's from self-destructing, I think we could do some serious damage with Cousins. We went 7-4 with horrible QB play. Imagine what we could do with very good QB play. I think we'd be competing for the AFC championship. i don't think this team is that far away. We need a better OC, better OL play and better QB play. Our defence is good enough when healthy.

 

No, we don't have to draft a QB every year. We just have to know when to cut dead weight loose. If you give a guy 24 starts and he can't score points, you have to do what you have to do. You can mismanage a team in many ways.

It's really not hard to come to that conclusion. It's not that I don't like the kid, he's just a bad quarterback. I want to see the team go a different direction. I am fine with a later round QB if we want to develop a competent back up. And I don't care about the situation he was put into. I'd be fine with rolling with him in a new situation if I felt like he maximized the one he was thrown into. He didn't. He looks lost.

I also don't care about the wins stat either. He shouldn't be praised for going 14-10 when he's scoring 15.9 points per game. The defense carried him to wins, and that is the true stat. You know who also has a winning record as a starter? Mitch Trubisky. He's 31-26. He was 29-20 before coming to Pittsburgh... That looks a lot like 14-10 to me. A lot of good that did Mitch. Mason Rudolph has a winning record as a starting QB. So does Landry Jones. Mike Vick has a winning record as a starter in Pittsburgh too. So does Dennis Dixon. Only 4 QB's since Neil O'Donnell took over in 1991 have started games as a Steeler and had a losing record (16 QB's started a game in that span). Mitch Trubisky (2-5) Jim Miller (0-1), Byron Leftwich (0-1) and Kent Graham (2-3). Kenny Pickett isn't a winning QB, the Steelers are a winning organization. If he was drafted by the Chargers, he'd be 3-21 and sitting on some team's practice squad right now.

 

I can get behind your second paragraph. I don't necessarily agree that Kelce is the answer, but I could get behind upgrading there with a pick. Cousins absolutely would have us in contention if he was Quarterbacking this team. He would also go a long way towards keeping our WR's from self destructing because they would actually be able to get their hands on a football or two. They are disengaged because we have been so atrocious at the QB position. An average OC, an average QB, and improved OL play would get us a home playoff game. That isn't even accounting for any upgrading we do to our secondary in the offseason as well. We CAN turn this around fairly quickly. The only question is do we have the gumption to make some hard decisions with the roster and go for it?