It was a rough sophomore campaign for Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett.

Pickett struggled through much of the season, and then in Week 13, he suffered an ankle injury that required surgery. He was expected to return later in the year, but was ultimately supplanted by Mason Rudolph as the starter.

There are a lot of questions surrounding Pickett heading into the offseason, but Mark Madden of “The Madden Monday” podcast expects the Steelers to take care of Pickett.

And how? By allowing Rudolph to walk in free agency.

“I think they’ll let Rudolph go because the minute Pickett has a bad game, the fans will clamor for Rudolph to come in,” Madden said. “[The Steelers] don’t want any real pressure, no real competition. So no matter what Tomlin says in that regard, Pickett is the No. 1. Somebody who’s not on the roster right now is No. 2. Everything that’s going to happen this offseason is preordained.”

Madden added that he expects Pittsburgh to pursue Josh Dobbs as Pickett’s backup. Dobbs spent his first three seasons with the Steelers between 2018 and 2020.

If Pittsburgh does plan on doing this, it would obviously signify that it does not see much potential in Rudolph for the future. However, it does not necessarily mean that the club views Pickett as the long-term starter. It just means that it doesn’t think Rudolph is worth having as quarterback competition.

The Steelers could trade up to draft a quarterback. They could also try to swing a deal for someone like Justin Fields if the Chicago Bears decide to move him. Or, maybe they could try and sign Kirk Cousins?

Whatever the case may be, Pittsburgh is not exactly settled at signal-caller going into 2024, and if it wants to seriously contend next season, it should probably get its quarterback situation straight.

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