Just like that, the 2024 NFL season is over thanks to the conclusion of Super Bowl LIX on Sunday night in New Orleans. The Philadelphia Eagles reign supreme, and now 31 other teams begin the quest to dethrone them this time next year.
One of those 31 teams is the Pittsburgh Steelers, who enter a rather pivotal offseason once again after going 10-7 in the regular season and getting bounced in the AFC Wild Card Round by the division rival Baltimore Ravens.
The Steelers have major questions at quarterback with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields set to hit free agency, work that still needs to be done along the offensive line after the young group struggled late in the year, and a defense that needs an infusion of talent along the defensive line and at cornerback.
Busy times ahead, it seems.
With all of those questions, the Steelers find themselves at No. 17 overall in the way-to-early 2025 power rankings from ESPN on Monday morning. The Steelers are ahead of the Miami Dolphins (20th), Atlanta Falcons (19th), and Dallas Cowboys (18th) inside the top 20.
The biggest priority for the Steelers this offseason, according to beat writer Brooke Pryor? Pick a quarterback.
“Yet again, the Steelers enter an offseason with uncertainty at the most important position. Team owner/president Art Rooney II said he prefers to sign either Justin Fields or Russell Wilson to a multiyear deal, but the team would also evaluate quarterbacks in the 2025 or 2026 draft,” Pryor writes regarding the Steelers and the need to find an answer at QB. “The QB decision will affect the rest of the roster construction. Can the team afford to pay a top-tier wide receiver?
“Will it use the first-round pick to bolster the defensive line? It all starts with the decision at quarterback.”
After getting some decent play from the likes of Wilson and Fields in 2024, it’s back to the drawing board for the Steelers once again. Doing so in another off-season at the most important position in sports is tough. But nothing else really matters on the roster until that position gets figured out.
It seems silly to boil things down to just one position in a team sport featuring 53 players on the roster and 11 guys on the field at once, but that’s the importance of the quarterback position in today’s NFL. The Steelers haven’t been close to having that franchise guy in quite a few years.
Things might not get any better this offseason, either. Art Rooney II stated his preference is to re-sign one of Wilson or Fields and also draft a quarterback in 2025. Ideally, the move is to sign Fields to be the bridge quarterback and take a flier on a quarterback on Day 2 or 3 in the 2025 NFL Draft.
The problem with that, though, is that there is no real franchise QB type in the 2025 NFL Draft, outside of the top two guys in Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders. And even then, those two aren’t worth trading a significant package for to move up and land. Players like Will Howard, Kyle McCord, Jalen Milroe and Jaxson Dart are all intriguing names worth fliers on in rounds 2 and 3, but even then, they aren’t exactly guys to bet the franchise on — at least right now.
Free agency or the trade market outside of Fields or Wilson isn’t all that great of an option, either, with names like Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford, Jameis Winston, Daniel Jones and Sam Darnold largely leading the way. See? Not great.
But the Steelers have to do something to try and fix the issue. Right now, they don’t seem close to contending with the top teams, and that’s discouraging. However, finding a franchise quarterback could quickly change that. That’ll be the big focus this offseason for the Black and Gold.
