Steely McBeam
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- Mar 20, 2019
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Ben Roethlisberger took the keys to the Steelers Offense from Tommy Maddox in 2004. Somebody one day soon will take the keys from Roethlisberger.
That quarterback may or may not be on the team’s roster right now. The Steelers took a flier on Dwayne Haskins and have Mason Rudolph and Joshua Dobbs.
But General Manager Kevin Colbert said Monday the team is open to drafting a quarterback.
“Again, wide open to all of it,” Colbert said, via NFL Media. “If you look at our current depth, obviously we have four NFL veteran quarterbacks on our roster, which I feel great about. We also have three of those four that are in the last year of their so-called deals, when you look at it realistically. So it’s an unusual group in that we do have four. Can you add a young one? Absolutely. We always have to be on the look for that next guy and try to predict the value of taking that player at that position because most likely a young quarterback won’t play for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2021.
“It goes all the way back to Ben. Ben wasn’t a sure pick when we were sitting there at 11 because we had more pressing issues than a quarterback because Tommy had done some good things for us. It wasn’t like we couldn’t have started a season with Tommy. When Ben was there for us, it would’ve been a huge mistake not to take him. So we’ll always be open to adding what we believe is the most critical position. But again, we feel good about having four vets to work with at this point.”
Roethlisberger, 39, is returning for what could be his final season with the Steelers. He has played 17 seasons, and after a $5 million pay cut, will come back for at least one more. That buys the Steelers a little time to find their next franchise quarterback.