Commentary: Steelers QB room is murky

One could describe the Steelers' quarterback situation in many ways. I'll go with peculiar, non-sensical and depressing. If you feared what Life After Ben would look like, your fears have been realized. Five men have tried. Five have failed, to varying degrees. Next season might bring us No. 6 and possibly even a stairway to seven. And you know what they say about quarterbacks: When you have seven, you probably have none. The top candidates would appear to be incumbents Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. Team president Art Rooney II kind of said he wants one of them to be the starter. He didn't specify which. I suppose either would do? Problem is, neither Wilson nor Fields was all that good this season, and one of them (Wilson) reportedly had his play-changing freedom stripped and seemed to indirectly shred the offensive coordinator, which by extension means the head coach, and could not play the way he wanted to, according to a story by the Post-Gazette's Gerry Dulac. Other than that — which is to say, other than the notion that Wilson is fading, doesn't like the offense, isn't liked by the offensive coordinator and may have, through his people, embarrassed the Steelers organization — it makes all the sense in the world to bring him back. But as crazy as that would be, this would top it: Aaron Rodgers, anyone? Rodgers will move on from the New York Jets after they reportedly told him he needed to, you know, be part of the team if he wanted to stay. Jay Glazer reports that Rodgers still wants to play. Can you imagine if Rodgers shows up here, capitalizing on his bromance with Mike Tomlin, and starts pontificating on Chinese spy balloons and dolphins dating habits on Day 1? I'm here for it. It beats boring, and the Steelers have been boring for a while now. Plus, if Rodgers disintegrates, which is quite possible, it might be the best thing for a franchise that desperately needs to take five steps backward in order to move forward, ideally with a new franchise quarterback. The Steelers have flat-lined at just above .500 (38-32-1 over the past four seasons, with a minus-80 point differential and three one-and-done playoff blowouts). Statistics can be deceiving, and in this case they are, but Rodgers threw for nearly 4,000 yards and 28 touchdowns this season. He's basically Wilson — on a downward arc with seriously reduced mobility but still capable of good games. Meanwhile, it's impossible to tell who Rooney prefers between Wilson and Fields. He makes it sound like whichever guy shows up at his door first with a team-friendly deal will be the starter. "We've had conversations with both," Rooney told WTAE's Ashley Liotus. "In terms of the players, they both have said they'd like to come back, so that's a good start." Is it? Does merely wanting to play for the Steelers qualify somebody to be the quarterback? I'd like to play for the Steelers. Can I be the quarterback? Rooney did not exactly offer glowing reviews of Wilson and Fields. The reviews trended toward lukewarm, or maybe steeped in ice. After telling reporters that both "are capable quarterbacks, and my preference would be to sign one of them," Rooney said, "We've got a whole quarterback room to fill, and so there's jobs open in there. I wouldn't be surprised if we look in the draft, as well, either this year or next, and so that's got to be the priority." If you're Fields, and you went 4-2 as a starter and watched Wilson regress down the stretch, wouldn't you be thinking you're the guy? Wouldn't you be perplexed as to why the team still is flirting with Wilson? And if you had better options elsewhere — Las Vegas, for example — wouldn't you be inclined to leave? I would, although I'm also not of the opinion that Fields was all that good in his six starts. He showed flashes, as always, much like Marcus Mariota did in Tennessee after he was drafted there. But as coach-turned-analyst Jay Gruden opined recently on the Clean Pocket podcast, "He's just not a very good passer of the football." That strikes me as problematic. Does a guy who has started 44 NFL games suddenly become a better passer, establish more of a pocket presence and become a legit franchise quarterback? Fields completed just 29 of 54 attempts (53.7%) for 276 yards over his final two games. He got away with a terrible throw against Dallas (defender dropped it), a wayward lateral that fortunately was recovered by teammate Jaylen Warren in Vegas, and an interception just before halftime that might have gotten him pulled from the Raiders game (overturned on a roughing call that had zero impact on the throw). He also was on pace for 17 fumbles. Having said that, Fields might be the best option. I guess I'd double down on running the ball and use his elite skills in that department. Either that or sign Rodgers. What could go wrong?