The Pittsburgh Steelers are in a position they haven’t been in in a long time looking for a new starting quarterback. General manager Kevin Colbert, who will be stepping down after the 2022 NFL Draft, recently gave a vote of confidence to Mason Rudolph, who has been with the team for four years, spent mostly as a backup to Ben Roethlisberger.
He is the only quarterback currently under contract and the team is looking to hold onto Dwayne Haskins as well. However, if either of them is the starting quarterback come Week 1, it would be viewed as a disappointment by some.
As the first and only general manager in Steelers history, Colbert will be looking to end his tenure on a high note. Helping set the team up for the future and locking in a capable replacement for Roethlisberger would be a good parting gift for the franchise.
Given the uncertainty of the quarterback class in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Steelers may be better off finding a veteran to take over under center. Their defense is nearly championship-quality already with their vaunted pass rush. Now, they just need the offense to get back on track.
One option that PFF says to keep an eye on is Derek Carr of the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders have a new head coach in Josh McDaniels that runs an offense that would seemingly fit Carr’s style of play perfectly. He also spoke highly of Carr upon his hiring, but the last time that he took over as head coach, he traded away the incumbent starter.
If Carr is going to meet a similar fate, the Steelers would be smart to get involved in the bidding. He would be a massive upgrade on what the team was receiving from Roethlisberger in recent years, as his arm strength and mobility both waned near the end of his career.
The price to acquire Carr, however, would not be cheap. According to PFF, an offer of the Steelers’ first-round picks in 2022 and 2023 along with a third-round pick in 2022 would get the deal done.
That is a steep price for any quarterback, especially one that is on an expiring contract that you will have to pay a significant amount of money to next offseason. But, if the Steelers are as close to contending again for a Super Bowl as it would seem, that is a deal they could seriously consider.
Pittsburgh will likely weigh what it would cost to move up in the 2022 NFL Draft for a prospect they like compared to what it would take to get a veteran. If the prices are comparable, they would be better off snagging a veteran such as Carr, who still has plenty of years left in the tank to produce at a high level.
