If the reports coming out of Pittsburgh aren’t just smoke and mirrors, the Steelers have no plans to bring in a veteran starter this offseason.

NFL columnist Peter King thinks the Steelers’ stubborn stance is crazy, and who can blame him? They’ll need to see significant improvement in Kenny Pickett‘s performance — and a healthy season — to get them to contending status. And there’s no guarantee, especially based on his history, that it’ll happen.

King wrote what all Steelers fans are feeling right now in his Feb. 19 Football Morning in America column. “I think, speaking of the Steelers, longtime beat man on the team Gerry Dulac reported the other day that the Steelers ‘are not interested in bringing in a quarterback who wants to be a starter.’ Come again? In a division with Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson and Deshaun Watson, the Steelers would actually choose to enter camp with Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph (should he sign in free agency with Pittsburgh)? That sounds like a colossal misjudgment of your quarterback position.”

It’s a colossal misjudgment, indeed. It’ll be challenging for the Steelers to hang with the big dogs in the AFC North, let alone if they reach the playoffs, without a quarterback who can consistently put points on the scoreboard.

Maybe Kenny Pickett will prove us all wrong in 2024.

Story originally appeared on Steelers Wire