Just when you think the Steelers QB room is filled to the brim, the 2024 NFL Draft could very well see another signal-caller enter the fray. During his pre-draft press conference on Monday, Pittsburgh general manager Omar Khan did not rule out the possibility that the franchise comes out of the weekend with another quarterback, although it is unlikely that this selection takes place in the first round.
“I think it’s unrealistic that we take a quarterback in the first round, if that’s what you’re asking, no,” Khan told reporters. “There are good players there and I wouldn’t close the door on anything. If there is an opportunity to improve this room, obviously we will look at it, but like you said, we have three guys who are there on one-year contracts and we have to be open to that.”
Pittsburgh overhauled its quarterback room this offseason, signing Russell Wilson after his release by the Broncos, trading for Justin Fields and also adding veteran Kyle Allen. On the other side of the coin, the team traded Kenny Pickett to the Eagles, released Mitchell Trubisky (since signed with the Bills), and also didn’t bring back Mason Rudolph (signed with the Titans).
While there are plenty of new faces in the QB room, it’s worth noting that Wilson, Fields and Allen are all only signed through the 2024 season. Pittsburgh has the option to pick up the fifth-year option of Fields to ensure he remains under team control through 2025, but that would be a costly undertaking of around $25 million.
With all of this in mind, it shouldn’t be impossible that the club could consider taking a quarterback at some point in the draft to give themselves some long-term stability at the position. The 20th overall pick may be out of the question, but the Steelers have a second, two thirds, a fourth and two sixth picks in this year’s draft.