The Pittsburgh Steelers passed on drafting Shedeur Sanders in the first round partly because of problems with Russell Wilson late last season, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
Breer revealed on a recent podcast with Bill Simmons that Wilson’s disappointing finish created friction within the Steelers organization. This influenced their decision to avoid Sanders, despite head coach Mike Tomlin having the Colorado quarterback on his draft board.
Sanders was considered a strong fit for Pittsburgh heading into the draft. Many analysts predicted the Steelers would select him in the first round.
But the front office wasn’t aligned with Tomlin on the quarterback position.
“I think people there would tell you that the Russell Wilson thing undermines so many things in the last month of the season and that a lot of that building really wanted them to go back to Justin Fields,” Breer said.
Wilson’s late-season struggles created internal division about the team’s quarterback direction. Many in the organization preferred returning to Justin Fields rather than continuing with Wilson or drafting another quarterback.
Tomlin found himself isolated on quarterback decisions after the Wilson situation.
“Tomlin was kind of, again, all on his own on that one. And I think it’s part of the reason why— Tomlin liked Shedeur going into the draft. But I don’t think Tomlin wanted to press that button again at quarterback after what happened with Russell at the end of the year last year,” Breer explained.
The Sports Illustrated reporter suggested that Wilson’s performance cost the Steelers potential playoff success. Poor quarterback play in crucial late-season games left the organization frustrated about missed opportunities.
“There’s some stuff that happened at the end of the year in games, where it was just like, man like if we were just average at that position or we were just running things the way they were supposed to be run, we might have been okay.”
Pittsburgh still addressed the quarterback position in the draft. They selected Ohio State’s Will Howard in a later round after recognizing they needed QB depth.
The Steelers remain active in pursuing veteran quarterback options. Reports indicate they’re still interested in Aaron Rodgers as another potential solution at the position.
Sanders’ draft stock has faced questions from multiple teams beyond Pittsburgh. The organizational discord over Wilson appears to have influenced more than just the Steelers’ immediate quarterback plans.
