The Pittsburgh Steelers have found themselves at a major crossroads. Last year, the Steelers and head coach reached the NFL playoffs again, and again, left without a playoff win, as their drought of playoff victories approaches a decade.
In the meantime, the Steelers have lost both of their starting quarterbacks from a season ago, and still don’t know who the starter will be for Week 1 of the 2025 campaign.
Many think that the Steelers are best served by signing veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers and trying to make another championship run. However, this is the last direction Pittsburgh needs to go in.
It’s glaringly obvious that, as currently constructed and with the current staff, Pittsburgh is in no position to compete for a Super Bowl. Instead, the franchise should focus on setting the organization up for future success.
Pittsburgh took a step in the right direction when they traded problematic wide receiver George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys to recoup some draft capital in next year’s draft, but they shouldn’t stop there.
The Steelers need to fully commit to a rebuild, and that means making the tough decisions. For starters, Pittsburgh should trade star edge rusher T.J. Watt while his value is high. Similarly, the team should distance itself from another veteran: Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers showed last year with the Jets that he isn’t the same quarterback who won multiple MVPs with the Green Bay Packers, so signing him would only keep the Steelers mired in mediocrity. Pittsburgh should let Mason Rudolph take the reins and count on being able to draft their next franchise quarterback with a top pick in next spring’s draft.
Finally, the Steelers have to move on from Mike Tomlin. As great as never having a losing record is, it doesn’t mean anything if the Steelers are incapable of making deep playoff runs, and if the last few seasons have shown us anything, it’s that the modern NFL has passed Tomlin by.
However, instead of making these changes, count on the Steelers to make the same mistakes over and over again.
