Should Steelers target Michael Vick for backup QB role?
If quarterback Ben Roethlisberger goes down at any point this season, the Steelers would be in a world of trouble.
Backup Bruce Gradkowski, who hasn't thrown a pass in two seasons with the Steelers, has been battling arm fatigue and is weeks away from practicing. That has left Landry Jones and Tajh Boyd to take the quarterback reps behind Roethlisberger, and the early results have been pretty disastrous.
There aren't many options to improve the depth chart, but there is one that the Steelers should pursue immediately, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette -- Michael Vick has been waiting patiently on the sidelines for an NFL team call to no avail as of yet. He played sparingly with the Jets last season, but his best game happened to come against the Steelers, a 20-13 upset by New York.
What (the Steelers) need right now is a quality backup, someone who can at least handle a snap from center and does not have a mysterious sore right arm. That first preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings will look more like the Hall of Shame game with anyone but Roethlisberger playing quarterback for the Steelers with Gradkowski out. And Mike Tomlin is not about to let Roethlisberger play much in that game.
Vick is by far the best free agent quarterback available. The Steelers are in desperate need to find one. Tomlin knows him. What could it hurt to sign him? Now.
Tomlin admitted last week that he has a soft spot for players from his hometown area in Virginia, and Vick fits the bill. The 35-year-old quarterback may not be the same player he once was, but he's surely a better option than Jones, Boyd, and perhaps even Gradkowski.
(h/t: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
