There are a lot of questions in regards to the Pittsburgh Steelers as they are headed into the 2024 offseason. With Coach Tomlin being very open at his end-of-the-season press conference, they were many issues that were addressed and gave an indication of where the Steelers would be going with various things for next season.

Although offenive coordinator is going to shape the Steelers team immensely, what might be just as important if not more so is what the Steelers are doing a quarterback. While Coach Tomlin addressed these issues somewhat during his press conference, there are three things that the Steelers need to make sure that they are not doing about the quarterback position heading in the next year.

1. Not seeking an upgrade

While head coach Mike Tomlin did say that Kenny Pickett was their QB1 at this time for next season, he also admitted that he would be challenged for the job. Even though the Steelers spent a first-round pick on Pickett not even two years ago, it is still not above almost any player to have their position upgraded. Unless an upgrade is impossible, the Steelers should always seek to get better at every position.

One example is some recent comments to finish out the season by Steelers offensive tackle Chuks Okorafor. Replaced midway through the season by Broderick Jones, Okorafor said that he still wants to start in the NFL and that if he wasn’t going to start it would have affected him choosing to sign back with the Steelers two years ago. I hate to tell you this, Chuks, but if you want to be a starting tackle in the NFL you’ve got to be better than the other players on the team. No one is above being upgraded. No one. Chuks was upgraded and probably won’t be back on this roster next season with his large cap hit.

This is just one example. But if the Steelers have the opportunity to improve the quarterback position, they should not let Pickett’s draft pedigree keep them from doing so.

2. Writing off Kenny Pickett too soon

But you also have to be careful. I found it interesting how many Steelers fans wanted to say, “This just goes to show that the Steelers wrote off Mason Rudolph too early,” and then follow it up not long after by saying, “Kenny Pickett ain’t it.” How could you do something so foolish?

If the Steelers did not give Mason Rudolph an adequate enough chance to show that he was an NFL-capable quarterback, they can’t do the same thing with Kenny Pickett. Does it mean that he has to be the franchise guy going forward for years upon years? It does not. But whether or not Kenny Pickett is the starter in 2024 or the backup, he should not be written off as being “what he is.” To do so with Kenny Pickett only to see him succeed further down the line when given an opportunity, whether in Pittsburgh or somewhere else, would be the Steelers repeating the cycle. It also helps that Kenny Pickett is arguably a better player after year two the Mason Rudolph was in his “interesting” 2019 season.

The fact Mike Tomlin said this is a huge year coming up for Kenny Pickett shows that the Steelers are not ready to write him off just yet. This is a good thing. I just hope the fan base does the same thing.

3. Forcing a quarterback on a new offensive coordinator

The first two topics are important, but this one is at a whole different level. Targeting an outside offensive coordinator, which Mike Tomlin says the Steelers are doing, needs to also give that coordinator some freedom to decide exactly what their vision is for the Steelers offense.

Imagine if the Steelers would have moved on from Matt Canada before last season. While one could go overboard and be thinking about who the Steelers would be matched up against this weekend as they would still be in the tournament, I’m not talking about their success this past season as much as what a different offensive coordinator would have been asked to do. Last season, Kenny Pickett was the no-doubt starter going into the 2023 season. Hiring a new offensive coordinator would have been giving the job to someone while telling them “this is your quarterback.”

Fast forward back to 2024, the Steelers don’t have to put that constraint on an incoming OC. This should give them the freedom to attract a top-notch candidate as long as they are willing to open the checkbook. While Kenny Pickett is going to be a quarterback on the roster, a new offensive coordinator should have a lot of say on what the Steelers do at the position in both free agency and potentially the draft. The one thing the Steelers shouldn’t do, and obviously aren’t forced to do this season, is tell the offensive coordinator that this must be your quarterback moving forward.