Welcome to Brian Batko’s Steelers mailbag. You can submit your questions to Brian directly @BrianBatko on X and bbatko@post-gazette.com.
Bobby B: Do you feel the Steelers have presented the optics of a team that was ready to tackle every facet of FA, pre-tampering? With so much riding on indecision with QB, it felt like they were hampered in pouncing on other opportunities based on potential financial constraints.
Brian: Not particularly, no. The perception of them around the league, by and large, is a truly desperate team. I’ll preface this by saying when it comes to the Steelers, believe none of what they say and only half of what they don’t.
What I mean by that is we had both Omar Khan and Art Rooney II state their preference to bring back one of the two starting quarterbacks from last season. Well, clearly, that preference wasn’t too strong if they let Justin Fields test free agency and quickly agree to terms with the Jets. And, clearly, they were in no rush to go to Russell Wilson as Plan B.
Now, perhaps they misread the Fields situation. I understand that two years, $40 million with three-quarters of that guaranteed sounds like a lot, but the salary cap keeps increasing greatly every offseason and Fields likely will rank outside the top 20 in total value of his contract among all quarterbacks by the time Week 1 kicks off. Basically, only players on rookie deals and backups are set to make less.
Then there’s the DK Metcalf deal, which seemed like the type of investment — financially and compensation-wise — that signaled the Steelers had a good feel for where they were headed under center. Why buy a 70-inch flat-screen TV if you aren’t sure where you’re living yet?
But Khan and Co. might argue they were looking at the Metcalf trade independently and the value was good regardless of who’s throwing him the ball. That line of thinking makes more sense if they’re eying a more long-term vision than short-term vision.
At any rate, it sure feels as if 2024 was a wasted season. Sure, you can say the purpose of it was to take advantage of a uniquely priced Super Bowl-winning quarterback in Wilson to see if he could get this team to the next level. But they also had the chance to learn about a former 11th overall pick in Fields and potentially develop him for another year instead of getting right back on the over-35 quarterback conveyor belt. Maybe they should’ve just traded a third-round pick for Geno Smith like the Raiders did.
Marvin P: The way free agency has been handled is why I beat the drum for a quarterback succession plan. It’s just mind boggling how they have screwed this up. As an aside, I live in metro Dallas but I’m a proud member of the traveling Steelers Nation. Last year, I went to games in Atlanta, Indianapolis and I took my daughter to Pittsburgh for the Cowboys game. I was waiting for the schedule release to decide if I was going to the game in Ireland. I’ll always cheer for the Steelers but for the foreseeable future, I’m going to watch the games from the comforts of my home or a bar in Dallas.
Brian: It may well be that kind of season, Marvin. We sort of knew this is how free agency would play, particularly the quarterback situation — especially if they pivoted away from Fields — but it’s another thing to actually live through it.
The machinations of will-he-or-won't-he with Aaron Rodgers, crawling back to Russell Wilson, etc., were always a reality. It’s not as if an unexpected option was going to magically hit the market (unless they can shake loose Anthony Richardson from the Colts? Hmmm ...).
If you’re looking for a slice of optimism — and, really, we all should be — this actually could kick into action a succession plan of sorts. Linking up with Fields again would’ve implied an investment of sorts in his progression and a belief he’s a 26-year-old guy still on his way up in the league. Rodgers and Wilson, obviously, are on their way down.
Spending a pick in this year’s draft on a quarterback, maybe even as high as the third round, becomes more palatable to me. Yes, you can project the 2026 quarterback class is the one to target, but there are no guarantees.
I’m not sure if Rodgers’ ego would allow for him to be benched for a Will Howard, Riley Leonard or Jalen Milroe a month or two into the season. But I would want a rookie or someone with potential behind him, and same goes for Wilson if he’s back.
Walt P: Let me preface my question by saying that I'm a life long Steelers fan starting in 1969- Noll's first team (1-13); so I've been through the great, not-so-great, and bad. What do you think the poll results would be if we gave Steeler Nation a choice between 10-7 and another first round play-off exit and 3-14 with the result being Tomlin gone and a legit chance to draft a franchise quarterback? I'm guessing 90-10 in favor of the latter.
Brian: It does feel like that. And the continued revolving door at quarterback only further speaks to the lack of a cohesive path forward under Mike Tomlin. It’s one thing for the Steelers to seem like they’re treading water, as it’s been for more than a few years now. It’s another for it to seem like they’re rudderless.
But like I said to Marvin’s question, it’s easy to envision these scenarios and say they’re preferable to the current predicament. It’s a whole other problem to actually sit through a three-win season, plus all the possible dysfunction and frustration that inevitably comes with that.
For a fan, you can compartmentalize. For coaches, players and everyone else in the organization, they may not want to live that life. Bottoming out does not ensure a return to greatness either.
Arthur L: Omar is known for his ability to manage the cap, has the cool Khan Artist nickname, and has made some impressive moves in his short time as GM but he has embarrassed himself and the organization with how he handled the WR needs last year and is handling the QB needs this year. To be fair, this is not a year to be in need of a QB. The FA market is poor, and the draft class is weak. It's understandable that he identified Fields as their best option out of poor FA and draft classes and that he set a maximum value for that option. It's also understandable that Fields held out until legal tampering kicked off to see if he could beat it and to his credit, he made the right financial decision. From there it's an embarrassment. How Omar didn't have an agreement in place with Russ that if Fields doesn't sign, we're signing you for $X, and get that executed within 5 min of Fields decision is a major mistake that cost them an opportunity to improve the DL in FA. Waiting on a decision from a HOF QB that father time has already beaten, presumably because of some bromance he and Tomlin have, is magnifying that mistake. Since they weren't willing to pay more for Fields and Russ has a year in the system, wants to be here, and already has chemistry with the $150M they spent on GP 2.0, why could they possibly be waiting on Rodgers to decide between them, NYG or retirement? He will provide nothing more than Russ will, does not know your system, won't accept not being allowed to audible, and is a headcase that makes GP look normal.
Brian: I figured there would be a lot of angst over the Steelers’ free agency moves — or lack thereof — but it’s pretty thick. As I’ve written before, Omar Khan was probably a little too patient last year when it came to the receiver market, both in free agency and at the trade deadline. All you can ask is someone learns from their mistakes, and the Metcalf blockbuster qualifies there.
You might be right on how the Fields developments played out, but you need to keep in mind there are other factors at play with Wilson. There are a lot of Arthurs involved, including yourself in this mailbag. Wilson’s return here looks simple on paper, but it can be tough to walk back somewhere if a bridge was burned from one end or the other or both.
As for Rodgers, I’ll leave you with one final thought. In the pantheon of all-time quarterbacks, he’s a tier above Wilson and there’s a chance he’s still a tier above Wilson as a passer, processor and presnap. That could earn him more trust at the line of scrimmage with the coaches than Wilson had, which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing for this offense.
Don't confuse that for me talking myself or you into Rodgers. I’m just trying to rationalize as we get closer to that dimension — if we are indeed getting closer to it.
First Published: March 13, 2025, 9:30 a.m.
