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Steelers Lack of Backup Plan Rears Ugly Head

The Pittsburgh Steelers don't have a plan B at quarterback, and it has hurt them.

Nicholas Martin

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As Kenny Pickett headed into the locker room and Mitchell Trubisky warmed up along the sideline, something truly began to click in my head; The Pittsburgh Steelers have no backup plan in place, no true failsafe option if the Pickett experiment happens to fall apart. 

A backup plan might seem reactionary to the incumbent quarterback, but it is often dangerous in such a volatile league to put all your eggs in one basket.

There is definitely a fine line to walk here, but it is also proving to be a necessary one as teams around the league and throughout history continue to showcase just how important it is to have that emergency "break glass" option. 

The 49ers invested an entire farm of picks just to acquire the number three overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, which they then used to take Trey Lance out of North Dakota State. No matter what your stance was on Lance at the time, the 49ers investment into him said a lot about what they believed he could become, with his arm talent potentially unlocking the Kyle Shanahan offense.

Despite this investment, they still brought back Jimmy Garoppolo before the regular season in Lance's second season with the team. They also elected to take a quarterback with the final pick of the 2022 NFL draft in "Mr. Irrelevant," Brock Purdy. Not only did the 49ers end up having to use plan B with Garoppolo as Lance got hurt in Week 2 that season, but then they had to rely on plan C in Purdy, which ended up unearthing a starting-caliber quarterback.

This also wasn't the first time Shanahan was part of a team that ended up pivoting off their primary investment at quarterback. 

With the failure of the popular number two overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft, Robert Griffin III, Kyle and his father, Mike Shanahan, would end up getting fired at the end of the 2013 season from the Washington football team. Despite that failure, the fourth-round pick in the same draft as Griffin III, Kirk Cousins, would end up developing into a good starting quarterback under the next regime.

The examples go beyond just Shanahan's former teams as well.

Tony Romo was the longtime starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, but with injuries and age catching up to him going into the 2016 season, the team's front office was prepared to invest in the future. Jerry Jones was very upfront about how he regretted not offering more to move up for Paxton Lynch at the time, which led to the serendipitous pick in the fourth round of Dak Prescott.

Kellen Moore, who was the primary backup at the time, would get hurt in training camp, while Romo also proceeded to hurt his back in the preseason. This opened the ultimate opportunity for Dak Prescott, who would win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. What ended up as plan C, became a Pro Bowl starting quarterback.

Everyone knows about the story of Kurt Warner, who went from bagging to groceries to becoming a Hall of Fame quarterback. What people tend to forget is that Trent Green was the plan A the Rams had in place when they signed him after he had a good season with Washington in 1998.

Before the Legion of Boom was known to the world, Matt Flynn would sign a three-year contract in 2012 with the Seattle Seahawks, after he impressed in a Week 17 shootout win over the Lions in 2011. This would not stop Seattle from taking quarterback Russell Wilson in the third round of the 2012 NFL draft. Sometimes what looks like plan A, can quickly become plan B in a heartbeat.

The point here is not to find the next Brock Purdy, or Kurt Warner as you'd be better off trying your chances of winning the Powerball lottery. The main connection to make here is to take a chance on the unknown when plan A is far from guaranteed. The list of successful quarterbacks taken past the first round, especially on day 3 of the draft is nothing compared to the endless list of uninspiring passers who end up out of the league in a few years.

The problem is the Steelers keep holding on to these uninspiring passers, despite plenty of sample size to suggest these passers just cannot cut it as starters. Sure, a proven veteran who didn't succeed as a starter can provide infinite wisdom to a growing young quarterback, but there is no valid reason to keep two of those types.

Trubisky has proven to be far too turnover-prone in his career. He has been charted with 92 turnover-worthy throws to 82 big-time throws, according to PFF. Meanwhile, Mason Rudolph looked like he barely garnered any interest in free agency around the league and ended up having to resign with the Steelers just to get his foot back in the door.

Investing a first-round pick into your starting quarterback is a reasonable play, but history has proven time and again that it is anything but guaranteed that the quarterback will work out. Pickett may very well prove to become a good starting quarterback in the league, but for a guy who was considered pro-ready coming out of college, there have been a lot of growing pains, and he's not exactly a spring chicken in terms of age.

With a potential coordinator change looming for next year, nobody truly knows what Pickett is right now, and that's a very big problem for this football team that does not currently have a plan B, nor a plan C sitting on the roster.

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Nicholas Martin
NICHOLAS MARTIN

Nicholas has been watching the Steelers his entire life. He has been writing about the Steelers since 2016. Prior to All Steelers, he contributed over at Behind The Steel Curtain.

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