Jan 27, 2017 4 min read

With this past Sunday’s dismantling at the hands of the New England Patriots, the offseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers officially began. For a while, it looked like the franchise was going to be in pretty good shape heading into the long months leading up to August.

However, the recent non-committal comments made by Ben Roethlisberger in terms to his future in the NFL have given Steeler fans enough consternation to no doubt create a noticeable spike in the income of local therapists. Unfortunately, the uncertain future of arguably the greatest quarterback to ever suit up for the Black and Gold is not the only subject that is very much in the air at this point.

Big Ben’s next move is not only a quandary in itself, but if he takes his sweet time making a decision, the Steeler brass will have to carefully decide how much of its resources need to be spent on a contingency plan or an heir apparent. With a team that is constantly fighting a battle against the salary cap, removing Roethlisberger’s roughly $20 million dollar yearly salary would give them some options when it comes to free agency.

As odd as it sounds, rumors surrounding Tony Romo taking over under center in Southwestern Pennsylvania have already begun to slip into online rumor pages and conversations. Pittsburgh fans may have a tough time swallowing the thought of the former leader of the hated Cowboys sharing a locker room with their favorite players.

Unfortunately, this is not a great draft in which to be hunting quarterbacks in the first round, especially in its latter stages. While putting Heisman Trophy winner Deshaun Watson or rising University of North Carolina star Mitch Trubisky in Pittsburgh would make plenty of people happy, the Steelers would need to trade away plenty of assets to make the move into the top three slots to assure a shot at one of them.

However, if the franchise wanted to make a crazy, not to mention extremely out-of-character, sacrifice for a splashy pick, 2017 might not be a terrible time to do it. With so many young players already taking on major roles, especially on the defensive side of the ball, Pittsburgh can afford to look more towards the present than the future.

Much like when Roethlisberger came into the league, the team also has developed a stellar supporting cast on offense, including a stout starting line, plenty of passing options and arguably the best running back in the game. Should the team want to roll the dice and make a big, splashy move, this wouldn’t be the worst time to do so.

However, if Roethlisberger does come back, all of this becomes moot. Even if he does, there are still questions surrounding the offense that need answers.

Can the team afford to produce new contracts good enough to keep Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell around for the foreseeable future? Speaking of Brown, have his antics become too much for the higher-ups to stomach? Did tight end Ladarius Green show enough in the brief amount of time he was fully healthy to warrant the team committing to him?

A much more likely scenario for this year’s draft involves the team continuing to add young talent to the defensive side of the ball. Outside linebacker, where it looks like James Harrison is going to outlast Jarvis Jones, is becoming one of the possibilities for the team’s prized first round pick.

However, as the Patriots showed, the secondary still needs work, despite the increased involvement of this past year’s rookie defensive backs, Artie Burns and Sean Davis. While it’s difficult for any defense to stop what I consider the greatest sustained passing attack in NFL history, the amount of wide open receivers on Sunday was downright embarrassing.

Other team issues that need clearing up include what to do with Martavis Bryant. Despite all of his issues, and there are many, this kid has a skill set that is reminiscent of a young Randy Moss or a not quite as beastly Calvin Johnson. However, if the mind and maturity doesn’t catch up to the body, Bryant could just end up being another sad tale of lost potential in pro sports.

No doubt, it will be tough to watch Super Bowl LI without the Steelers representing the AFC. However, the drama and intrigue of the next six months will be even more fun to watch, than anything produced by the Patriots and Falcons.