Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns STILL Need A Starting QB

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Do they even have a plan? The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns do not have starting QBs. One may assume this is a problem. Not so fast.

Prepare for the intense sports debate that only sibling rivalry can conjure. Seesaw Sports, where Dan Salem and Todd Salem throw down on the NFL, MLB, NBA and more. Only on BuzzChomp. Two brothers from New York yell, scream and debate sports.

 

It is finally here. This is the week of the NFL Draft. And despite this being the final leg of the offseason, amazingly, astoundingly, alarmingly, there are still at least two teams without any plan at all for the quarterback position. Both reside in the NFC North and both are playing it cool.

We are not counting Tennessee. Give them Cam Ward. Even though the Titans haven’t drafted him yet, and even if he doesn’t start Week 1, Ward is the plan. We are also not counting New Orleans or Carolina. They are, seemingly, fine with their internal options of Derek Carr and Bryce Young, respectively. You might not like the direction, but it is, at the very least, a direction.

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Then there remain the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns, two teams without a direction at all at the most important position. This is so late in the game to be wondering where to begin. Do they even have a plan? Are they planning to formulate the beginnings of a plan?

 

Pittsburgh Steelers and Browns Lost at QB

 

 

Todd Salem:

The Pittsburgh Steelers currently have Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson as their only QBs. Neither is a starting-caliber player; neither offers any upside for the future. Everyone has penciled in Aaron Rodgers on this club because the alternative makes no sense. There is nowhere else for Pittsburgh to turn unless it wants to trade for Kirk Cousins and take on much of his salary. And there is no one else who wants Rodgers. Rodgers isn’t even holding the team hostage at this point, because there are no other suitors or variables. Each side is just waiting. 

Is that whole saga enough to give Pitt the benefit of the doubt? Do we just assume they are going to enter Week 1 with either Rodgers or Cousins starting, and the steps it took to get there are somewhat irrelevant? I can buy that argument.

What makes even less sense is Cleveland’s plan. The Browns have three QBs on-roster currently: Joe Flacco, Deshaun Watson, and Kenny Pickett. Watson is unplayable; Flacco and Pickett are both backups through and through. There is no whiff of a starter here.

…which is why it is so weird that everyone says the Browns are not taking Shedeur Sanders with the second pick in the NFL Draft this week. I suppose it has more to do with Sanders’ talent level than Cleveland’s need, but at this point, doesn’t one overpower the other? Sanders has not been given a first-round grade by most scouts. Is he close enough, though, to attempt to build around? The alternative is just throwing away all of 2025 and running this outline again heading into the 2026 draft.

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If ownership and the front office are aligned, throwing away the ability to compete for an entire season could be a god’s send, albeit a PR nightmare. It allows the roster to be reset and plans to be formulated without the pesky consequence of losses mattering. It is something rarely, if ever, done in this sport. It is a baseball or basketball team-building exercise; not football.

I suppose there simply aren’t enough quarterbacks to go around this year. Normally, a few rookies will come in and be thought of as future plans even if they don’t start Week 1. Last year saw a whole bunch of them flood depth charts.

With the exception of Ward, this draft is only going to add maybe one other dude to that pool. Quarterbacks taken in round two or later have a nearly 100 percent miss rate. All the teams combined find a quality starter in that portion of the draft like once every half decade. There were three this decade (Dak Prescott, Jalen Hurts, Brock Purdy), and that feels abnormal. Could someone like Sanders (if he drops to where scouts value him) or Jaxson Dart buck the trend? Of course it’s possible, but it doesn’t seem like a sound plan on which to hang a franchise.

 

 

Dan Salem:

To be fair, the Cleveland Browns have gone into many seasons without any hope of winning games, or a plan for that matter. It’s been a minute, but let us not forget those incredibly forgettable Cleveland quarterbacks like… well I forget. But you know who I mean. The Browns are kings at being bad, but unlike my Jets, they don’t try to hide it. Flacco is serviceable and it can’t hurt to play Watson a bit since you’re paying him to do so. It may be an ugly bridge, but there are four posts and enough planks for the current Cleveland QBs to bridge the gap to a rookie taking over.

Sanders is unlikely to succeed in Cleveland, mainly because it’s the Browns and I can only see them messing him up. But rest assured Cleveland will draft a QB, if not at three, then later on, and that player WILL take over the starting job this year. That’s the plan, even if it sucks big time. Can the Browns be worse than the Giants or Jaguars this season? It appears likely.

Over on the Pittsburgh Steelers there is another rather unique situation revealing itself. The Steelers under Mike Tomlin have always finished with nine or more wins and almost always make the playoffs. That seems to be both their floor and ceiling, which makes for cramped accommodations and a currently disgruntled fanbase. They are not in an enviable position because Rodgers isn’t about to push them over the top and they can’t easily draft a rookie worthy of the job.

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Do the Steelers need a plan at QB? Their history under Tomlin says no and he’s certainly earned the benefit of the doubt with his “nine wins or bust at ten” track record. Rodgers has potential upside, but little more than Russell Wilson did last year. Cousins actually could really make a difference, but he’s unlikely to stay healthy all season, just like Wilson. I envision the Steelers trading up for a QB in the early second round and hoping one of these veterans can rub literally everything off on them in a short amount of time.

In the end it’s safe to say that Baltimore will be winning the NFC North once again, with Cincinnati and Pittsburgh competing for second place. Bad defense versus questionable QB play, that is the battle for second in the North. Place your bets now. Both Pittsburgh and Cleveland have shown us their hands.

 

 

Meet our Sports Writers:

Dan Salem is Lead Editor and Co-owner of BuzzChomp. He’s an award winning Actor, Director and Producer. Visit M Square Productions for his film work, or get lost in his old-school comedy on Pillow Talk TV. You can follow him on X, TikTok and Instagram. His latest film ‘Alone’ is now on Amazon.

Todd Salem is a Staff Writer and Contributing Editor at BuzzChomp. He’s also a champion of fantasy football and fantasy baseball, dominating leagues for over two decades. Comment below on his unfiltered opinions.

Pittsburgh Steelers and Browns Lost at QB – This Is The End

Photo Credits: Cleveland Browns on YouTube and behindthesteelcurtain.com; fox10phoenix.com via Getty Images

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