During the 2022 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers decided to use their first-round pick to select former University of Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett.
The hope was that he would be able to emerge as the next great franchise signal-caller for the Steelers following the retirement of longtime quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
Unfortunately, that hasn’t really worked out for Pickett during his first two seasons in Pittsburgh, and now it sounds like the team might already be considering other options under center for the 2024 campaign.
According to NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo, the Steelers are expected to look into signing free-agent veteran quarterback Ryan Tannehill this offseason (via Dov Kleiman on Twitter).
With the hiring of Arthur Smith as OC, there is an “expectation” the Steelers will look to add free agent QB Ryan Tannehill to the roster, per @MikeGarafolo pic.twitter.com/aIzFnuPjWq
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) February 11, 2024
Tannehill signing with Pittsburgh makes a ton of sense after the team recently hired former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith to be their new offensive coordinator.
Prior to his tenure with the Falcons, Smith spent the 2019 and 2020 seasons as the Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator.
Smith and Tannehill worked together during those two years in Tennessee, and they worked well.
With Smith calling the plays, the veteran quarterback put together arguably the best two-season stretch in his entire NFL career.
With the Titans In 2019 and 2020, Tannehill completed 67.3 percent of his passes, averaged 234.3 passing yards per game, threw 55 touchdowns and only 13 interceptions, and generated a passer rating of 110.6.
The good news for the Steelers is that signing the veteran quarterback in free agency this year probably isn’t going to cost that much since he will turn 36 in July, and he’s coming off of a bit of a lackluster season in 2023.
So even if Pittsburgh is willing to give Pickett another chance to start next season, Tannehill could be their backup plan.
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