For almost two decades, the Pittsburgh Steelers had stability at the quarterback position with Ben Roethlisberger. Even after he retired, the Steelers attempted to draft his replacement the first chance they got with Kenny Pickett in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. The franchise isn’t used to entering the offseason without a solid plan at quarterback, but that is more or less what happened in 2024. Mason Rudolph was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent, and Pickett had just sat on the bench for the team’s playoff loss.
The quarterback rumors and speculation started early, and by mid-February the Steelers had been linked to virtually every available (or potentially available) quarterback in free agency.