Imagine a future Steelers team with Deshaun Watson as a starting defender, Jameis Winston as a substitute, Sam Darnold as a third stringer and Marcus Mariota as a member of the training team.
How about a defensive line consisting of Cam Heyward, Stephon Tuitt and … JJ Watt?
How about a secondary that includes safety Jamal Adams playing alongside safety Minkah Fitzpatrick?
Winston and Adams were members of the Steeler fans’ wish list for 2020, while Watt and every quarterback with an ax to grind and / or lover in his adopted hometown who is ready to spill the beans are on the 2021 wish list, like next year, like after the playoffs, like why is anyone worried about anything besides the Steelers’ big wildcard confrontation with the Browns this Sunday night at Heinz Field?
It used to be a big deal, you know? The postseason? That tournament that Pittsburgh lost in the past two years? I remember the old days, when the Steelers had a big playoff dispute on the horizon, and everyone was too concerned with making posters, songs and cakes with black and gold icing to worry about anything other than just moving on to the next round so they could make more signs, songs and black and gold cakes.
But that was before social media and the aspiring general manager’s rise. Sure, they always existed, but we usually didn’t hear from them until about a month or more before the annual NFL Draft. Now, we hear from them all the time.
“Do you think we should move the pending free agent JuJu Smith-Schuster to a really bad team in exchange for choosing the draft for the first round of 2021 for that really bad team?” Not? So, should we just let him walk for nothing? ”
“Do you think we should try to bring Deshaun Watson or Sam Darnold or Marcus Mariota or Jameis Winston so that we can prepare him to be Ben Roethlisberger’s apparent heir? Not? So are you saying you’re okay with the Steelers having no plans to replace Big Ben? ”
“Do you see the Steelers coming in first and taking Trevor Lawrence? Not? So are you saying Mason Rudolph is the answer? ”
I wish they were all examples of make-believe / scarecrow, but they really aren’t. This is the kind of thing people have been asking for a long time before the Steelers started 11-0. They continued to ask these questions during the 11-0 start in Pittsburgh, and are even asking these questions on the eve of the Steelers’ first post-season bout in three seasons.
The most recent example of a player that Steelers fans are intrigued by is Watson, the fourth-year quarterback of Texans who may or may not want to seek a position if he is not a major influencer in hiring the next Houston coach.
Since the world hates Roethlisberger and Steelers fans hate to think about life without him, of course, Watson was connected to Pittsburgh.
“What would you be willing to give up in an exchange for Watson?”
I will tell you what I would like to give YOU for asking this question: A tall glass shut up.
On the one hand, there is no way the Steelers will be able to pay Watson, whose contract is even more mega than Roethlisberger’s. In addition, the Steelers’ salary cap situation for 2021 is so precarious that they may not be able to afford 62-year-old quarterback Mark Malone. Third, Watson is really good and not even the Texans are stupid enough to negotiate a quarterback who would be much easier to simply assemble their team, as long as they get their front office in order.
Fourth, the Steelers are about to play a bloody playoff game! If you do a good job on that game, you’ll have another one to play next week. If luck continues on their side, they will have a virtual parade to participate in next month.
It’s all now. That’s all it takes to get that seventh Lombardi.
What will happen after Roethlisberger retires? Who knows? Who cares? I’m sure the Steelers have something up their sleeve since No. 7 involves their surgically repaired elbow on the ice for the last time.
Let them worry about it.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to finish decorating my Steelers playoff cake “The Browns is the Browns”.