The Pittsburgh Steelers are currently in the thick of the AFC playoff race and in a race for first place in one of the toughest divisions in football, the AFC North. Despite the Steelers' consistent status as contenders under head coach Mike Tomlin, this team definitely should be in the market for quarterbacks in the 2024 offseason, and it's never too early to put one eye on future quarterback changes.
With what we've seen so far from Kenny Pickett as a starting quarterback in the NFL, it's clear that he's not the best or most dynamic option for the team moving forward. Now, you have to be careful -- the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Sometimes the grass is green where you water it. With that being said, change may be necessary for this Pittsburgh Steelers offense to really progress, and the QB position is one of the first areas to look at.
But who could realistically be available to the Steelers in 2024? Let's look at three names to keep an eye on.
3 QB options for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024
1. Kyler Murray, Cardinals (trade)
The Cardinals have some interesting decisions ahead of them, potentially. We'll see what kind of impact Kyler Murray is capable of making in his first week back from a major knee injury suffered last season, but things were not exactly going well for Arizona prior to his injury, either.
Murray has the rest of this season to prove to the top decision makers in Arizona that he deserves to be kept around beyond this season, although trading him is not going to be the easiest task in the world. The Cardinals will have to work through the financial aspect of trading Murray and his massive contract, if it actually comes to that point.
A team like the Steelers could obviously figure out how to make that work, though they would have to do a lot of restructuring elsewhere on the roster.
I think we have to acknowledge the possibility of someone like Kyler Murray simply because there's a chance the former #1 overall pick becomes available. If that's the case, the Steelers would be fools not to figure out how to possibly make it happen.
2. Justin Fields, Bears (trade)
Now, this idea would be a pretty significant roll of the dice. You could easily argue against this potential QB change:
Why would the Pittsburgh Steelers move on from Kenny Pickett and his overall inconsistency just to move on to Justin Fields and his?
It's fair to ask, and I think the idea that Fields is a full year ahead of Pickett on his rookie contract is another reason why the Steelers might just roll with what they've got as opposed to making a deal like this.
However...Justin Fields is a dynamic athlete. I think at his best, he's shown much better potential than Kenny Pickett with 12 total touchdowns in six games this year compared to seven touchdowns in eight games from Kenny Pickett. Now, that particular statistical category is not the only metric you want to consider, but the point I'm trying to make is that Justin Fields is a better overall playmaker, he has better physical tools, and despite having been in the year for one more year than Pickett, Fields is actually younger as well.
I think if I were running the Steelers and I was rolling the dice in 2024 anyway, I would much rather just take a shot on the physical talent of Justin Fields, putting him in a favorable situation (much more favorable than Chicago) for a season or two as opposed to just kicking the can down the road and rolling with Pickett again.
3. Mac Jones, Patriots (trade)
I think Mac Jones is one of the players in the NFL most in need of a change of scenery beyond this season. Jones's career got off to a hot start in 2021 for the Patriots when he made the Pro Bowl as a rookie and looked like he was a solid choice as the team's QB of the future.
Unfortunately, the Patriots have really failed to surround Jones with the proper coaching offensively and talent around him to help him actually have sustained success at the NFL level. I think at the very least, the Pittsburgh Steelers have way better weapons for the quarterback and I think Mac Jones could almost end up being for the Steelers what they hope(d) Kenny Pickett could be.
At his best, I think Jones is the quintessentially "point guard" at the quarterback position. He can thrive in an offense where he's not being asked to be the primary source of success, but minimizing mistakes and keeping the offense flowing as much as possible.
The situation for him right now with the Patriots is just flat-out bad. I don't know whether the Patriots are certainly going to move on from Mac Jones in the offseason, but I think if they do, the price to acquire him will be relatively reasonable, and I do think he'd be an upgrade over Kenny Pickett.