2022 NFL Draft: 5 teams that need to find a quarterback this offseason
By Kyle Edmond
Pittsburgh Steelers
Ben Roethlisberger said it himself, all signs are pointing to this being his last season in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers. A first round selection in the 2004 NFL Draft, Roethlisberger has provided stability under center for Pittsburgh for the better part of the last two decades.
Of the teams on this list, Pittsburgh has the best in-house options with a few that they could attempt to use next season to delay the quarterback search. Mason Rudolph is under contract for next year and could be given an opportunity while Dwayne Haskins is also currently rostered and could be re-signed to a cheap contract.
Rudolph has had his opportunities and has been about average. As for Haskins, the former first round pick could see a career revival in the Steel City after sitting and learning from Roethlisberger.
But what if Pittsburgh wanted something better? Something more sustainable? Some rumors have paired the Steelers with Aaron Rodgers, which could be a band-aid fix for a few more years. Rodgers is only one year younger than Roethlisberger, so that doesn’t solve the long-term problem.
Over the history of the Pittsburgh Steelers organization, there have been only five quarterbacks selected in the first round, and just three since 1970. Terry Bradshaw was taken No. 1 overall in 1970, Mark Malone 28th in 1980, and Roethlisberger at No. 11 in 2004.
The odds of Pittsburgh looking to the draft for a quarterback, at least in the first round, seem slim unless they find the perfect fit. That leaves the position heavily in question moving forward unless they decide to shift the course of their franchise’s history.