NFL 2024 season - Pittsburgh Steelers team preview

Yahoo Sports' Jason Fitz and Frank Schwab discuss if there's any chance the Pittsburgh Steelers don't finish at the bottom of the AFC North and how exactly their quarterback situation will shake out. Listen and subscribe to the “Zero Blitz” podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.

Video Transcript

Uh look Steelers fans have been just killing me on Twitter for saying this.

But if I had one big question is this, can the Steelers stay out of the basement?

I, I right now to me, it's, it's all can Tolin have the, the winning season?

Uh, look, if you just look at the roster as a whole, I think the Ravens are a better roster with a much better quarterback.

We all know that the Browns as you know, I've been very high on the Browns.

I continue to be high on the Browns.

I think the Browns are a better roster and even Deshaun Watson better quarterback than the Steelers have in their room.

The Bengals by far have a better quarterback.

You're right.

They have some questions on defense, but I think they have a far more talented offense particularly.

I think the Bengals are a better team.

If we were playing on Madden, the least appealing team to me in their own division is the Pittsburgh Steelers.

So like in my mind, we just sit here every year and we say, well, Tomlin has a winning season.

We all know that, ok, in this division today looks like the toughest division in all the NFL.

And can the Steelers not be in line place?

I, I don't see how, and, and part of it is that I don't believe in Russ and I don't believe in Justin Fields coming in midway through the season and suddenly fixing this, like Justin Fields has to win the job in the preseason for me to feel like, yes, now they're pushing towards him towards a way that they can have a starting quarterback that they can rely on all year, but they, they don't right now.

And even if Justin Fields does start, I would argue as much as I've been hard on Deshaun on this show.

They have the fourth best quarterback solution.

So fourth best quarterback, this team's gonna finish in the last place.

Yeah, it, it's honestly hard to argue and honestly, it says something about Mike Tomlin's greatness that we don't just automatically say, yeah, the Steelers is gonna be terrible because there's something in the back of our minds that's saying maybe Tomlin can pull this off and they don't finish in last place because he does it every year.

But at some point, I, I just don't know how this talent under roster competes with those other three teams in the, in the division, as you said, unless there's injuries elsewhere.

I don't see how the Steelers get there unless Russ is rejuvenated or like you said, Justin Fields wins the job early and just kind of takes off.

But I think we both have questions about those quarterbacks.

We both have questions about the receivers now too.

It's not as deep as it used to be.

They're relying a lot on George Pickens who isn't the most reliable guy in the world.

Their defense is still great as long as TJ is healthy but TJ Watt.

But ho how long is, you know, I mean, how long can he play at this elite, elite, elite level?

Maybe for years and years?

I don't know, but it's gonna have to just be this old school approach, smash mouth with both of their running backs, the defense carrying them.

Maybe they get some good quarterback play, maybe Tomlin just figures out a way, but I'm kind of with you when you look at this division, if you're having an honest assessment, how do you not pick this team for last place?

I, I just think that they would have to have a lot of, of really fortunate things happened through the course of the year to finish above any of the other three teams that we're talking about in the AFC North real quick.

What do you think the best case scenario is at the quarterback position for the Steelers?

I've always thought it was Joseph Fields.

I mean, when you think about Russ just, let's just talk about Russ real quick, let's say Russ has a really good season.

It looks like Seattle Russ again.

Are you giving him a massive extension at age 37 going into 2025?

Like, he's not a one year deal like this is, it's hard for me to imagine that the Steelers and when we're talking about this in a few months, we're gonna be like, oh yeah, the Steelers signed him to a four year $200 million extension or whatever it would be.

I, I just, that doesn't make any sense to me.

So I think our best case scenario at the end by, from now until the of the season is Justin Fields wins.

That job early comes around as a passer.

Those are the questions, right.

We all know his athleticism and he's shown flashes.

He's had some good games.

He's not zero as a passer if he develops that.

And by the end of the year they feel good about Justin Fields going forward.

I think that's our best case, but I, I think there's a long way to go before we could feel like, oh, yes, Justin Fields is a quarterback of the future for the Pittsburgh Steelers.