National Football League

Bradshaw to Steelers: ‘Stay with’ Pickett; Fields trade would be ‘huge mistake’

Updated Feb. 22, 2024 9:11 p.m. ET

After a 2023 season in which they returned to the playoffs despite an oft-criticized offense, the Pittsburgh Steelers will enter 2024 with a new offensive coordinator — and, possibly, a new starting quarterback.

After Mike Tomlin hired former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith to replace Matt Canada, who was fired midway through last season amid the team's offensive struggles, speculation has grown that Pittsburgh could bring in a veteran quarterback to compete for the starting role next season against 2022 first-round pick Kenny Pickett.

But according to one Steelers legend, the team should stay the course and give Pickett another chance. FOX Sports NFL analyst Terry Bradshaw, a Pro Football Hall of Famer and four-time Super Bowl champion quarterback with the Steelers, believes Pickett deserves further opportunity to prove he can be the team's signal-caller of the future.

"I love Pickett," Bradshaw told the Rich Eisen Show recently. "I know him well, and he's fiercely competitive. He's a tough-minded kid. Things don't bother him. I really like him a lot. I'm going to say this for the 10,000th time this year. Surround not only Kenny, but any of these young quarterbacks — [Justin Fields] with the Bears — surround them with talent. Why is [Brock] Purdy successful with the 49ers? Look at all that talent, and look at that coach [Kyle Shanahan] calling plays. And that kid's got the poise. Kenny has the poise. I just want my quarterback to be poised."

Bradshaw said he believes poise helps quarterbacks stay calm in game situations, read defensive coverages and make the quick decisions needed from NFL quarterbacks. He also thinks trading for Fields would be "a huge mistake" for the Steelers.

"Stay with what you got," Bradshaw said. "Give him another receiver. Give him an explosive tight end. Give him another tackle. Give him a guard. … He's fine. That's their guy."

The Steelers may be thinking along the same lines as Bradshaw. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the team is not interested in bringing in a veteran quarterback who would aim to compete for the starting job instead of being Pickett's backup next season.

Pickett started the first 13 games of the 2023 season for the Steelers but got injured in the team's Dec. 3 loss to the Arizona Cardinals and never got his starting job back from Mason Rudolph, who got the nod for Pittsburgh's wild-card round loss to the Buffalo Bills.

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Fields and Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson have both been connected to the Steelers in recent weeks, amid reports that Tomlin is "a big fan" of Fields as Chicago evaluates whether to keep the Ohio State product or draft a quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and that there may be interest between Wilson and the Steelers.

The Steelers are currently the betting favorites to end up with Wilson amid reports the Broncos will move on from the 35-year-old veteran this offseason — but also have the second-shortest odds to land Fields as of Thursday evening.

Bradshaw also said he is a fan of Tomlin's choice to bring in Smith, pointing out that Smith may still have his job running the Falcons if they had made the playoffs, which they still had a chance to entering Week 18. Instead, however, Smith was fired and eventually replaced by former Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris.

Time will tell if Smith — either with Pickett or a new quarterback — can inject some more life into the Steelers' offense.

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