Steelers' Art Rooney II 'Not Closing the Door' on QB Trade amid Pickett's Struggles

While it's still early in their offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers are keeping all of their options at quarterback open for the 2024 season.

Speaking to Bob Pompeani of KDKA-TV, Steelers president Art Rooney II said they are "not closing the door" on a potential trade for a quarterback.

It's safe to assume that Kenny Pickett is not going into next season guaranteed to be the starting quarterback.

Pickett was effectively benched at the end of this season when Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin stuck with Mason Rudolph even though the second-year signal-caller was cleared of a concussion to play ahead of a Week 17 game against the Seattle Seahawks.

Tomlin did explain after that game Pickett's clearance came late in the week, and Rudolph had already taken most of the first-team reps in practice.

Rudolph kept the starting job in Week 18 and in the playoff game against the Buffalo Bills. He played well in three regular-season starts with 716 yards, three touchdowns and a 74.7 completion percentage.

By comparison, Pickett threw for 2,070 yards, six touchdowns and four interceptions in 12 games.

The most prominent quarterback likely to be traded this offseason is Justin Fields, though the Chicago Bears could pull of a surprise by keeping him and dealing the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft.

ESPN's Matt Miller noted speculation from NFL people at the Senior Bowl is the Bears will draft USC quarterback Caleb Williams with the top pick and move Fields for a package "potentially centered around a second-round pick."

Pittsburgh could also attempt to sign a free-agent quarterback. Kirk Cousins is the biggest name player who could be available. Russell Wilson is expected to be released by the Denver Broncos in March. Ryan Tannehill is set to hit the open market, and he played two seasons with new Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith with the Tennessee Titans from 2019 to '20.

Every option should be on the table for the Steelers right now. Even though Pickett was a first-round pick in 2022, he hasn't done anything in two seasons to prove he's a viable long-term option at quarterback.