When Ben Roethlisberger retired after the 2021 season, he left behind a legendary career and a massive void in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback room. For the last two decades, Big Ben has been the face of Pittsburgh’s football culture, leading the Steelers to two Super Bowl wins while remaining as reliable as ever in the center.
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Understandably, the Steelers have yet to deal with his departure, considering they have cycled through five different quarterbacks since then. This constant turnover has left fans and even analysts like Kay Adams frustrated.
In the latest episode of Up & Adams, Kay Adams didn’t hold back from calling out the Steelers management for running a merry-go-round in their QB1 position. The last two seasons have seen the Steelers rotate through Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky, Mason Rudolph, Justin Fields and Russell Wilson—almost unrecognizable when compared to the days of Ben Roethlisberger.
Adams acknowledged that Mike Tomlin’s efforts to ensure regular postseason appearance have prevented the Steelers from getting opportunities at the Draft. However, a storied franchise like the Steelers failing to lock down a pivotal position as QB for this long is disheartening for her. “This is a storied franchise. A Tiffany franchise. They have to get back there,” he started.
“I know it’s not easy when you’re always winning, despite the quarterback issues, and constantly picking in the 20s—it’s hard to grab that stud. But they can’t allow this quarterback storyline to go on much longer. I’m sick of it. I don’t know what the answer is, but as usual, the quarterbacks are headlining everything.”
With all that said, what’s next for the Steelers? As per the latest rumors, the Pittsburgh-based team isn’t keen on retaining either Russell Wilson or Justin Fields despite making the playoff last season.
This is a pivotal decision that the Steelers cannot get wrong. On one hand, their fanbase is backing Justin Fields as their next QB1 due to the massive potential the youngster brings to the table.
Ex-NFL stars like Tim Hasselbeck, meanwhile, believe that Tomlin should stick with Russell Wilson for one more year, considering he immediately replaced Fields as the starter after returning from injury. Hasselbeck wants the Steelers to stick with their decision from last season to ensure continuity in the project.
These are two contrasting schools of thought that become even more confusing when one compares the two QBs statistically. As far as QB ratings are concerned, both Wilson and Fields are right next to each other with 95.6 and 93.3 respectively.
The status remains the same in completion percentage as well with Fields’ 65.8% slightly higher than Wilson’s 63.7%. With the fundamentals being so similar, the decision for the Steelers truly depends on the intangibles.
That said, Kay Adams provided an interesting suggestion—sign someone from Ben Roethlisberger’s generation like Aaron Rodgers or Matthew Stafford. This is a valid point considering the weak QB draft class this year.
Regardless, the Steelers must decide at the earliest: Is Wilson or Fields good enough to lead them to a Super Bowl, or is it time to go all-in on a new franchise quarterback? For fans who grew up watching Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers’ current situation must be hard to digest. Pittsburgh cannot afford to get this decision wrong.
