The Pittsburgh Steelers learned the hard way how difficult it is to get consistent contributions from the backup quarterback position after Ben Roethlisberger battled the injury bug last season. Add a season-ending injury during camp to veteran Bruce Gradkowski, and the Steelers were forced to lean on Michael Vick and Landry Jones to carry the load.
Vick struggled mightily in three starts and though Jones did have a few bright spots in his two starts, there were plenty of ugly moments for the third-year backup. Now Jones is penciled in as the backup next season and there are plenty of questions surrounding him in terms of being a trustworthy option in that role.
There is no question the Steelers will have to add another quarterback into the fold that could be a legitimate challenger to Jones for backup duties. Finding that player in the draft is a huge risk, and it would likely cost the team a pick desperately needed to fill other needs. The other option is to explore the free agent market for a proven veteran.
Although the free agent market for quarterbacks this offseason is less than optimal for teams looking for viable backups, there may be some options that could be of interest to the Steelers. Let’s take a look a few of the names and whether or not they might be a fit to compete with Jones for the backup role next season.
Bruce Gradkowski–The 33-year old Gradkowski spent the past three seasons with the Steelers and only saw action in one game over that span. A dislocated finger during training camp derailed Gradkowski’s 2015 campaign and forced the Pittsburgh native to spend the entire season on the IR. After making 11 starts in his rookie season in Tampa Bay back in 2006, Gradkowski has nine starts in his last eight seasons playing for the Buccaneers, Browns, Raiders, Bengals and Steelers.
The career numbers aren’t pretty-they include a completion percentage that stands at 52.9 percent, more interceptions (24) than touchdowns (21) and a quarterback rating that stands at a dreadful 65.8. All this points to the Steelers likely moving on from Gradkowski, who remarkably spent 10 seasons on NFL rosters but will be a long shot to keep that streak going next year.
Matt Moore–Moore might be one of the more intriguing options in the barren free agent market for experienced backup QB’s. Moore has spent the past five seasons with the Miami Dolphins, mostly backing up Ryan Tannehill over that span. Moore will turn 32 in August and although his last start was in 2011, he’s made 25 combined starts with the Carolina Panthers and Dolphins.
Over that span he had a 13-12 record as a starter, completing nearly 60 percent of his passes while throwing 33 touchdowns and 28 interceptions. His career rating of 79.3 won’t remind anyone of Joe Montana, but it’s certainly a workable number for a backup. Moore might be the best option among the potentially affordable free agents on the market, and the argument could be made that he could provide real competition to Jones for the backup job.
Case Keenum–I told you this market was shaky, but Keenum might be a viable option if the Steelers are looking to go the relatively cheap route for quarterback depth. The 28-year old Keenum has spent his past four seasons with the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Rams. Keenum has some starting experience, compiling 15 total starts including five last season with the Rams where he led the team to three wins.
Keenum in a lot of ways, is a younger version of Moore and last season he was able to complete 60.8 percent of his passes for four touchdowns and one interception while finishing with a respectable rating of 87.7 percent. You clearly are not winning Super Bowls with Keenum running the show, but if you need a starter for a handful of games, he might be as good an option as there is heading into free agency.
There are a handful of other options such as Matt Schaub, Chase Daniel, Drew Stanton and Kellen Clemens, but it’s hard to believe the Steelers will look to any of them seriously as backups to Roethlisberger next season.
After learning the hard way how important it is to have a viable option at backup quarterback, the Steelers will need to look at all options to at least give Jones a challenger for the job next season.
Photo Credit: Associated Press
