Steelers' Art Rooney II on potential trade for veteran QB: 'We're not closing the door on anything'

The idea of the Pittsburgh Steelers trading for a veteran quarterback this offseason isn’t dead yet.

In an interview with KDKA TV’s Bob Pompeani, Steelers owner and team president Art Rooney II would not dismiss the possibility. Asked whether the Steelers might consider trading for a veteran quarterback this offseason, assuming the price was right, Rooney wasn’t willing to rule it out.

“As we sit here in early February, we’re not closing the door on anything,” Rooney said. “We have a lot of evaluations to go through, and we’ll go through all of the options and do what we need to do to be better this coming season.”

That appears to contradict what Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said in his season-ending media conference. Asked last month if his starting quarterback for 2024 was currently on the roster, Tomlin said a definitive “yes.”

Kenny Pickett will have two years remaining on his contract starting with the coming season. Mitchell Trubisky remains on the books for the same length of time — for now. Those are currently the only two QBs under contract for 2024. Mason Rudolph, who started the final three regular-season games and the playoff loss at Buffalo, is a pending free agent. 

That Rudolph earned the start in a must-win Week 18 game over Pickett, who had been deemed healthy after an ankle injury, was a notable demotion. It amounted to a benching of Pickett, even if the Steelers wouldn’t call it that, muddying the picture somewhat for the 2022 first-rounder’s outlook. 

NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero previously reported that the Steelers’ plan was to have Pickett enter the offseason program as QB1 but that he was expected to have competition for the job. 

Considering what Rooney said, that competition might come from anywhere, including the veteran ranks. So whether it’s trading for a veteran, drafting a quarterback from an intriguing 2024 NFL Draft lot, re-signing Rudolph or exploring some other avenues, the Steelers appear to have not ruled out any of the possibilities to put pressure on Pickett next season.