Jerome Bettis Exclusive: Steelers Must Be Bold In Pursuit Of Franchise QB

Jerome Bettis believes his former team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, are a “victim of their own success.”

The Steelers have been a winning franchise ever since Mike Tomlin took the helm in 2007. Pittsburgh has won a Super Bowl and been to two overall, but they haven’t had much success in recent years. In fact, they haven’t won a playoff game since before T.J. Watt’s arrival, which was back in 2016.

That means the Steelers have lost five consecutive postseason games. 

Bettis attributes that lack of success to not having a franchise quarterback, which has been a glaring issue since Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement after the 2020 season.

 ”They’re a victim of their own success because he’s never had a losing season,” says Bettis in a one-on-one interview. “They’ve never been able to draft in the top 5 or top 10 where you gotta go get a quarterback. So, they’ve been picking 17th, 18th, 22nd, 24th. You’re not gonna get the quarterback that you need at that point. It’s 100% the quarterback scenario because you haven’t been able to go get that guy.”

The Steelers had some success this season, picking up veteran quarterback Russell Wilson. While Wilson was able to lead the Steelers to the playoffs while enjoying his first Pro Bowl campaign since the 2021 season, it became clear there was a ceiling with him at quarterback.

Not only was Pittsburgh outmatched by the Lamar Jackson-led Baltimore Ravens in the wild card round of the playoffs, they lost their final four regular season games. All of those games were against top-tier quarterbacks in Jackson, Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow.

 ”I just think they need a quarterback,” says Bettis. “I think that’s been the issue that’s been holding them up is they don’t have the quarterback play that they need to have to be a special football team. I think because of that, they haven’t been able to be a championship-caliber team. They are a playoff-caliber team, but not a championship-caliber team.”

Bettis: “Break The Bank” To Get A Quarterback

Steelers owner and president Art Rooney II recently stated the team will only bring back either Wilson or Justin Fields — not both. Although Wilson won the starting quarterback job in training camp, he struggled with injuries at the beginning of the season, which led to Fields starting the first six games of the season and going 4-2. 

Fields actually played the best and most efficient football of his career during that stretch, posting a career-high 93.3 passer rating along with a league-best 0.6% interception rate. There were even questions as to whether or not the Steelers should shift away from Fields and onto Wilson as the starter.

Regardless, Bettis still feels like the Steelers don’t have that quarterback to get them to that championship level. He even pitches the idea of Pittsburgh trading up in the draft to select either Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders — the top two quarterbacks in the draft — if they feel like either guy can be a franchise quarterback.

“If I were the GM, I would go out and look at drafting a quarterback in this draft,” says Bettis. “If there’s one that I really really like, then I break the bank and I go up and get him. And then I sign a veteran quarterback like Russell Wilson to a two-year scenario where he can help bridge the game and get this young quarterback ready.”

“You have to be willing to invest,” says Bettis. “If one of these guys you believe is the guy, then you gotta go out. If it takes three first-round picks, you gotta give them three first-round picks. 

“But you’ve gotta go out and get the guy you like,” Bettis continues to say. “I don’t know who that guy is if it’s any of these quarterbacks. I don’t know if you mortgage your future for any of these guys. I don’t know. But if you do like one of these guys, you gotta go all in. Because what they’re doing right now, will not work. It’s proven that it doesn’t work. They have to re-commit themselves to finding that quarterback.”

Bettis compares the Steelers’ situation to when the Kansas City Chiefs moved up to the No. 10 slot from the No. 27 pick to draft Patrick Mahomes. The Hall of Fame running back says “you gotta go get him” if the Steelers believe one of these guys can be their franchise quarterback.

“You saw Kansas City went from No. 27 to No. 10 in the 2017 NFL Draft and they got the guy they wanted,” says Bettis. “They wanted Mahomes and they went and got him. If you feel one of these guys is your guy, you gotta go get him.”