Steelers Quarterback Depth A Cut Above The Rest Of The AFC North Now In 2023

The Pittsburgh Steelers have decided to run it back at the quarterback position. After Monday’s report that Mason Rudolph would be re-signing with the Steelers on a one-year deal, the Steelers now enter the 2023 season with three capable quarterbacks with starting experience.

The Steelers are not the only team though who has had a productive offseason at the quarterback position. So, where does this news leave the Steelers in comparison to their division rivals? Here is a quick breakdown of the AFC North quarterback arms race.

The Steelers and the AFC North QB breakdown

Let’s start with the Baltimore Ravens who were the noisiest team this offseason when it came to quarterback. Lamar Jackson and the team played a long game of “will-they-won’t-they” until he ultimately signed for a whopping five-year, $265 million dollar deal (with $185 million of that guaranteed). This deal secured him as a longtime starter, a delightful prospect for Steelers fans. Safely behind Jackson is last year’s backup, Tyler Huntley, who frustratingly got named to the Pro Bowl over Kenny Pickett in 2022. Huntley is a solid backup for the Ravens and he won’t have to do much to fend off fellow quarterbacks Anthony Brown (a second-year player out of Oregon) and Nolan Henderson (an undrafted rookie out of Delaware).

Next up are the Cincinnati Bengals who are also more than secure at the quarterback position. Joe Burrow will remain the starter there and likely be a thorn in Pittsburgh’s side for years to come. This is provided he and the Bengals come to a deal. If they don’t by the beginning of next season, Burrow will enter the fifth year of his rookie contract and we may have to endure a similar news cycle between the Bengals and Burrow that we just had with Jackson and the Ravens. Fighting for QB2 and QB3 is Trevor Siemian (an eight-year veteran with plenty of starting experience) and Jake Browning (a second-year player out of University of Washington).

Lastly in the division are the Cleveland Browns. Deshaun Watson holds the starting job, the Browns are paying him too much to start anyone else at the position. However, it remains to be seen if the Watson trade and experiment will be worth the deal as he spent most of last year suspended or throwing interceptions. Fighting for jobs on the team behind him is a strange group of guys that the Steelers have all been linked to in different ways. Most obvious is former Steelers backup Josh Dobbs who signed with the Browns in March of 2023. Also on the team is Dorian Thompson-Robinson, a fifth-round draft pick who the Steelers were reportedly high on in this year's draft and former Minnesota Vikings third round draft pick Kellen Mond, who the Steelers also took a solid look at in the 2021 draft class before deciding to pass.

This brings us circling back to the Pittsburgh Steelers who had a surprise offseason where many fans speculated that Mitch Trubisky would be a roster cut due to his large cap hit and that Rudolph, after losing camp battles for both the starting position and backup position last season, would be leaving the team to search for a roster where he could at compete for a starting job. This leaves the depth chart looking identical to last season placing Pickett at QB1, Trubisky at QB2, and Rudolph wearing the headset yet again at QB3.

The biggest loser of this news is undrafted rookie quarterback Tanner Morgan, who will have to prove doubters wrong if he wants to make the team. NFL teams rarely keep three quarterbacks on their rosters these days, let alone four. He is most likely fighting for a practice squad spot that the Steelers will be happy to give him if he proves his worth.

All these quarterback rosters are likely to change through the year. Backup quarterbacks are often subject to the final 53-man roster cut and general managers will drop them like loose change as teams enter the season if it means saving a dollar. But more so than any other team in the AFC North, the Steelers have the most consistent and proven group of quarterbacks. All offseason, we lamented and worried about the QB3 position, but the surprising re-signing of Rudolph puts the Steelers in better shape than any other team in the division if injuries happen at the quarterback position.

So, what do you think #SteelerNation? Which AFC North team has the best quarterback depth? Do you like having Mason Rudolph back in the black & gold? Let us know in the comments below!