Steelers’ QB plans ahead of training camp will grab Russell Wilson, Justin Fields’ attention

The 2024 NFL offseason has been a hectic one in the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback room. The Steelers ended the 2023 season with Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph, and Mitchell Trubisky making up their quarterback depth chart, but now Pickett is in Philadelphia, Rudolph is in Tennessee, and Trubisky is back to serving as Josh Allen’s back-up in Buffalo. In for that trio are Russell Wilson, who signed a 1-year deal with Steelers after being released by the Denver Broncos, Justin Fields via trade with the Chicago Bears, and long-time back-up Kyle Allen. But from the sounds of it, Pittsburgh could still be exploring their options at quarterback.

“Aditi Kinkhabwala of CBS Sports said during an appearance on 93.7 The Fan Wednesday that ‘the Steelers aren’t done at quarterback,'” writes Chris Ward of Steelers Now. Ward went on to note that it’s not unusual for the Steelers to bring four quarterbacks to training camp, so even if Pittsburgh doesn’t use one of their seven picks in the 2024 NFL Draft on a QB, you can count on one being brought in as an undrafted free agent.

Signing as an undrafted free agent is generally not an avenue that sets a quarterback up for immediate playing time, but last year there was one notable example who proved to be the exception to the long-held rule. Division II star Tyson Bagent was an undrafted free agent who signed with the Chicago Bears after the NFL Draft, and entered training camp as the #4 on the depth chart. But eventually, Bagent beat out both PJ Walker and Nathan Peterman for the back-up job — not exactly a quarterback competition that Bears fans will be telling their grandkids about — and would surprisingly go 2-2 in four starts in relief of an injured Justin Fields.

The two quarterbacks that Ward notes in his piece are Carter Bradley from South Alabama, and Kory Curtis of Division II school Gannon University. Carter Bradley is the son of Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, and he reportedly had a very impressive Pro Day in front of coaches from both the Steelers and Jets. He has good size and a big arm.

Before Kory Curtis played two seasons for Gannon, he started his college career as a walk-on at Ohio State, where he shared a quarterback room with Justin Fields, Joe Burrow, and former Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins, who Curtis called his “best friend.”

“My best friend, Dwayne, passed away and I was just playing every game for him and trying to make him proud,” Curtis told Jonathan Williams of The Gannon Knight.

In addition to both Bradley and Curtis, two names that I wouldn’t be surprised to see land in Pittsburgh are potentially Florida State’s Jordan Travis, who likely grades out as a day three selection after suffering a horrific lower leg injury late in the season, and Phil Jurkovec, who started at Notre Dame, transferred to Boston College, and then left Boston College to play for the Pittsburgh Panthers during the 2023 season.