When it comes to the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback situation, there are many theories as to what the organization should do.
A.) Make a big trade for an established veteran like Aaron Rodgers, Derek Carr or Russell Wilson.
B.) Draft a potential future star in the first round.
C.) Do nothing and ride it out with Mason Rudolph and Dwayne Haskins so they can throw money and draft picks at other holes on the roster.
I’ve advocated for the first approach, with little public support.
But one thing I wouldn’t do is attempt to solve the Steelers quarterback issue by simply throwing a volume of bodies at the position.
In other words, don’t bring back Haskins, Rudolph, Josh Dobbs and another mid-tier, backup veteran quarterback. Or Haskins, Rudolph, a mid-round draft choice and Dobbs.
That’s not being decisive. That’s being cluttered.
You can fix other positions of need on a football team by merely accumulating numbers on the depth chart and employing a survival-of-the-fittest mentality.
Perhaps wide receiver. Secondary. Defensive line. Along the interior of the offensive line.
Quarterback doesn’t work that way. The less clear the plan is, the less likely you are to see the potential of whoever happens to be the quarterback at the time.
Because at the first sign of trouble, it’s easy to bench a player that has no commitment behind him and go to Plan B.
Or C. Or D.
For the Steelers, they always seem to do that when they don’t have a lot of good options to choose from in the first place.
Like when they were bouncing back and forth between Rudolph and Devlin “Duck” Hodges in 2019. Or in 1999-2000 when they wobbled between Kent Graham, Mike Tomczak and Kordell Stewart. Or 1985 when they were a pinch of Mark Malone, with a dash of Scott Campbell, and dollop of David Woodley all mixed together.
That’s what a quarterback room made up of Rudolph, Haskins, Dobbs, a draft choice and “fill-in-the-blank castoff, backup quarterback X” sounds like to me.
Want an example of what I’m talking about? Take this recent post from Tony Pauline of the Pro Football Network.
“Word right now is Pittsburgh is targeting Malik Willis in the 2022 NFL Draft. And though I cannot confirm Pittsburgh is targeting Willis, I do know they like him an awful lot. As far as free agents, I am told they are targeting three signal-callers: Mitch Trubisky, Teddy Bridgewater and Jameis Winston.
“The combination of one of those three QBs plus selecting Willis in the NFL Draft would set the Steelers up both short and long-term.”
Willis in the draft along with Trubisky or Bridgewater or Winston?
Let’s be clear, if a franchise is “targeting” at least two of four quarterbacks at once, it isn’t “targeting” any at all. That’s like throwing every dart at the board at once and just hoping one hits the bullseye by luck.
Why do that when you can take close aim one-by-one?
I mean, “set the Steelers up” for what, exactly? A year-long game of drunken Jello Twister at the position? Especially since this franchise already has Rudolph, Haskins and Dobbs at their disposal to start camp if they need them as options to buffer the depth chart.
To me, nothing about that approach indicates a commitment to a plan. Nothing about that strategy suggests a focus. That plan of attack sounds more like going to sea with plenty of life jackets because you know the boat is leaky.
So find a better boat before you shove off instead. Or stay landlocked until you can build one from scratch.
You may not like the idea of the Steelers bringing in Rodgers, Wilson or Carr because of the cap dollars and trade compensation needed. But at least those guys would keep them in the playoff hunt over the next few years.
You may see flaws in each of the quarterbacks who are projected first-rounders. But if the Steelers drafted one, at least they’d be committed to cultivating long-term success at the position.
And you may not like the idea of riding with Rudolph and Haskins in 2022. But at least the franchise could use lots of cap dollars and draft picks to start rebuilding the rest of the roster and maybe be in a better draft position next year.
At least choosing one of those three options would be an obvious plan and a distinct strategy.
Rudolph, plus Haskins, plus a rookie, plus Bridgewater/Trubisky/Winston sounds to me like a bad quarterback potluck picnic at Three Rivers Stadium in 1985.
I just endured “’80s Night” for the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena last week. It was all too real as the Penguins played terribly and lost 6-1 to the New Jersey Devils.
I feel like I’m watching the Pirates of the 1980s every time I attend a game at PNC Park.
I don’t need to relive the ’80s again with the Steelers quarterback position, too.
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