Since Ben Roethlisberger retired, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been a mess under center. They’ve been unable to find a consistent starting quarterback. Kenny Pickett didn’t work out, and neither did Russell Wilson nor Justin Fields. Now, the Steelers seem to be pinning their hopes on Aaron Rodgers. However, he’s not a long-term answer. Former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho believes Mike Tomlin deserves a lot of the blame for the Steelers’ quarterback predicament.
“The biggest thing we turn a blind eye to in all of sports is Mike Tomlin’s complete negligence of the quarterback situation,” Acho said Friday on FS1’s The Facility. “You would suggest that it’s malpractice, what he’s doing with the quarterback situation with the Steelers.
“One of the most shocking things I ever saw, I think I saw this online recently, this will be the third consecutive year that the Steelers have completely redone their quarterback room.”
Acho isn’t exactly right there. This will only be the second year in a row that the Steelers totally overhaul their quarterback room. That still isn’t great, though. It speaks to how directionless the Steelers have been at that position. After it became clear Pickett wasn’t their guy for the future, the Steelers have been putting a Band-Aid on their quarterback problem.
Last year, they did a decent job of filling their void under center. The Steelers signed Wilson on a cheap deal and traded almost nothing for Fields. That seemed like a good strategy, and it worked to an extent. The Steelers made the playoffs, but they totally collapsed to finish the season.
This year, the Steelers are more unsettled at quarterback than ever. That’s because they still don’t really have a starter. They signed Mason Rudolph, but if he’s their starter, it’s going to be hard thinking they can win a playoff game. Rodgers, on the other hand, probably makes them even more competitive than they were with Wilson. However, that’s all dependent on him actually signing with Pittsburgh.
Rodgers is taking his time making a decision about his future. It doesn’t seem like he feels any pressure to accelerate that process. That leaves the Steelers playing the waiting game. If Rodgers retires, the Steelers could find themselves with a serious problem at quarterback.
It’s fair to put some of the blame for that on Tomlin. While he isn’t the Steelers’ sole decision maker, his voice carries a lot of weight. He seemed to play a big part in the team signing Wilson and then benching Fields for him. Acho is exaggerating, but maybe Tomlin does deserve more blame for the Steelers’ mess at quarterback.
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