Football <\/p>\n
The biggest issue the Pittsburgh Steelers face this offseason centers on the quarterback position, where the Black and Gold need to find an answer \u2014 and fast. The problem is, the answer to the Steelers\u2019 biggest problem isn\u2019t all that clear, and the options ahead aren\u2019t all that enticing.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n While owner and team president Art Rooney II stated in January that his preference is to re-sign one of Russell Wilson or Justin Fields<\/a> \u2013 both started games last season for the Steelers \u2014 neither is all that exciting when it comes to the long-term outlook of the franchise.<\/p>\n For former NFL safety and current ESPN analyst Jason McCourty, who appeared on ESPN\u2019s Unsportsmanlike Conduct on ESPN Radio Friday morning, he doesn\u2019t see Wilson or Fields leading the Steelers back to relevant football in December and January. He doesn\u2019t see a name like Sam Darnold as an answer in free agency, either.<\/p>\n The pickings are slim, which has McCourty leaning toward just focusing on building a really good team around the QB position moving forward.<\/p>\n \u201cI would try to go a different direction. The scary thing with that is it\u2019s hard to figure out exactly what that direction is, but I think the tough thing in this league is when you have some form of a solution, sometimes you just ride it out knowing that ultimately it\u2019s not the decision that\u2019s going to get you over the hump,\u201d McCourty said of the quarterback situation in Pittsburgh, according to audio via ESPN Radio.<\/a> \u201cSo if you\u2019re the Pittsburgh Steelers, you saw what you had with Russ that wasn\u2019t good enough with the way the season ended. You saw what you had with Justin Fields and you were still searching for more, and that\u2019s the reason you put Russell Wilson in.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I don\u2019t think those two guys are ultimately the guys that can get you back to relevant football late in January going into February. So I think you move on past those guys and you look to see free agent wise, I don\u2019t think Sam Donald\u2019s the guy.\u201d<\/p>\n McCourty brings up a good point regarding Fields. The Steelers already moved on from him once as the starter, even if that move was strictly a Mike Tomlin decision as Tomlin went \u201clone ranger\u201d and inserted Wilson<\/a> into the starting lineup. Based on that, Tomlin showed his hand when it comes to his feelings on Fields as a starter, because he left him wanting more.<\/p>\n Things completely fell apart down the stretch under Wilson as the Steelers lost five straight games and didn\u2019t score more than 17 points in a game after Week 14. Now, the path forward for the Steelers is unclear.<\/p>\n It seems very likely one of the two will be back, though names like Matthew Stafford, Aaron Rodgers and Sam Darnold have been connected to the Steelers this offseason, not to mention Ole Miss\u2019 Jaxson Dart in the draft.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n For McCourty, it comes down to the Steelers needing to just bolster the team around the QB position because there\u2019s no clear, obvious path and answer they should seek.<\/p>\n \u201cSo then you go towards the draft as a guy like Jaxson Dart falling later in the first round, or maybe even in the second or third round you can get him and maybe see what he can do. I think it\u2019s more about trying to build that team,\u201d McCourty added regarding the QB position. \u201cWe see so many teams, you just go for the quarterback every single year and you\u2019re trying to just put a quick solution on a problem, and it doesn\u2019t work and you\u2019re in the same spot year after year after year.<\/p>\n \u201cSo it\u2019s more like, try to build a really good football team and then plug a quarterback in and see if you can win that way.\u201d<\/p>\n