The Pittsburgh Steelers’ offseason plan at quarterback has been easy to doubt from the outside.
Mike Tomlin gave unreliable veteran Aaron Rodgers months to decide whether he definitely wanted to play in the Steel City with no good backup plan on the depth chart if the mercurial Rodgers decided to retire.
Pittsburgh failed to re-sign Justin Fields (Jets), let Russell Wilson (Giants) walk out the door, replaced them with free agent signing Mason Rudolph and rookie sixth-round pick Will Howard — and then they waited.
And waited. Until Rodgers finally agreed to terms on a one-year contract on Thursday.
While Pittsburgh’s slow-played signing of Rodgers was unorthodox, former Steelers Super Bowl champion Willie Colon said Thursday on the “Talkin’ Ball with Pat Leonard” podcast that the Steelers had to think big to take the next step as an organization.
“Listen, the Steelers realize they have to be able to compete in that division,” Colon said ahead of his 11th annual Willie Colon Golf Outing benefiting the Lupus Research Alliance on June 23 at Canoe Brook Country Club (N.J.). “And last year, when they lost their last five games, they lost to MVP-type quality quarterbacks. You’re talking about Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson.
“And they looked at Russell Wilson and realized they don’t have anybody on their roster like that,” Colon added. “So they now are in a position where, ‘We have this defense that’s young and competing, that can fight. We have enough offensively. We just don’t have that killer, that elite quarterback.’”
Rodgers, 41, of course, was light years off of his four-time MVP pedigree during a disastrous two seasons with the Jets. That was headlined by tearing his Achilles in his first game with the team to open the 2023 season, along with the off-field sideshow his presence and public comments often created.
Still, the reason the Steelers pursued him is the same reason the Giants sought him as their Plan B after chasing a Matthew Stafford trade with the Rams:
Rodgers showed flashes of regaining his form late last season, and his top level is second to none if and when he reaches it.
“The last 10 games with Aaron Rodgers when he was with the Jets, he became healthier, they shored up the left side by getting Olu Fashanu there, and he started to play better,” said Colon, an FS1 analyst who played three seasons for the Jets to finish his career. “And the more he gained confidence with himself you started to see splashes of the old Aaron Rodgers.”
Pittsburgh doesn’t appear to be finished upgrading its offensive weapons, either.
Tomlin swapped out George Pickens for D.J. Metcalf at receiver, acquiring Metcalf in a trade from the Seahawks before dealing Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys. They have a speedy deep threat in Calvin Austin III and a workmanlike tight end in Pat Freiermuth.
They drafted running back Kaleb Johnson out of Iowa and signed Kenny Gainwell from the Eagles. They reportedly looked into trading for Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith, a need exacerbated by the torn Achilles of tight end Donald Parham Jr. And they’ve hosted wide receiver Gabe Davis on a free agent visit.
All of those extra pieces only end up being as useful, though, as the quarterback delivering the ball to them in coordinator Arthur Smith’s offense.
That’s why Colon said the Steelers’ wait for Rodgers was worth it: in a division with Jackson and Burrow, if the Steelers don’t have a star quarterback, they have nothing at all.
“I think the Steelers are aware they’re hiring a mercenary, they’re hiring an old gun,” Colon said. “And I think they’re willing to lay in bed with that. You look at the division with Burrow, who threw 40 plus touchdowns last year, and Lamar Jackson coming off another quality MVP season. And you’re the Pittsburgh Steelers. You need a quarterback that can bang against those guys.
“I think the Steelers are smart,” He said. “I think they know what they’re doing.”
WHAT GIANTS GET WITH WILSON
Despite Wilson’s shortcomings with the Steelers, Colon said the veteran quarterback can help the Giants win games this season. “It’s all about what you’re asking Russell to do,” he said.
“He can still throw it deep,” Colon said. “He still has enough mobility. His biggest issue going into Pittsburgh last year [from Denver] was taking unwarranted sacks. Can the [Giants] manufacture this offense where he’s getting the ball out quick, he’s able to be more mobile in the pocket?
“When you’ve got Russell moving with the pocket, he seems to come alive a little bit,” he added. “[You should be] getting the run game behind him and not asking him to throw the ball more than 30 times. When he gets into the high volume range where he has to make a lot of decisions, I think he gets himself in trouble.”
Colon said protecting Wilson won’t be easy because the Giants “have a hellacious front seven,” outside of left tackle Andrew Thomas.
But he believes if the Giants can sustain a sufficient running game and play behind an improved defense, Wilson and a skill group that includes Malik Nabers, Darius Slayton and Jalin Hyatt could find a way to sustain some offense.
“As great as Russell Wilson’s moon balls were and were awesome to see and he was scoring touchdowns, the man couldn’t throw in the middle of the field,” Colon said of Wilson’s highs and lows in Pittsburgh. “Everything was on the outside of the numbers, and he was just stretching down the field and it was dink and dunks [otherwise].
“It’s about making sure Russell is getting the ball out of his hands and not feeling like he has to carry that weight,” the Super Bowl champion former NFL guard added. “He can’t do it like he used to, but he can still be efficient enough. I think we were able to see that in Pittsburgh.”
Support the Lupus Research Alliance and Colon’s 11th annual golf outing at https://give.lupusresearch.org/.
