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USATSI

In the span of about five weeks, the Pittsburgh Steelers completely overhauled their quarterback room. Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph and Mitch Trubisky are all on new teams now after being replaced by Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. 

Pickett will restart his career in Philadelphia while backing up Jalen Hurts. Trubisky will reprise his role in Buffalo as Josh Allen's backup. Rudolph will possibly get a chance to start in Tennessee while competing with incumbent Will Levis. 

How did each quarterback fare during their time in Pittsburgh? It's safe to say that, while they had varying levels of success, each one left the Steelers with a level of disappointment. Trubisky struggled to deal with the pressure of staying ahead of Pickett on the depth chart in 2022. Pickett dealt with a myriad of issues that eventually led to him asking for a trade. Rudolph left after apparently never getting a legitimate chance to become Ben Roethlisberger's successor. 

In order to gain some perspective of their time in Pittsburgh, here's my list ranking the Steelers' starting quarterbacks since 2000. 

13. Kent Graham 

  • Record: 2-3

With Graham under center, the 2000 Steelers started 0-3. Graham lost his starting job, but made two more starts later in the year. The Steelers won both games after outscoring their opponents by a combined score of 37-0. Graham went 16 of 45 passing in those games that included a 3-of-13 showing against the Browns. 

12. Byron Leftwich 

  • Record: 0-1 

Leftwich completed less than 50% of his passes in his only year in Pittsburgh: a 13-10 loss to the Ravens in Week 11 of the 2012 season. He did, however, play exceptionally well after coming off the bench to lead the Steelers to a big win over Washington during Pittsburgh's Super Bowl-winning 2008 season. 

11. Mitch Trubisky 

  • Record: 2-5

Ironically, Trubisky's greatest moment came as a backup, when he replaced an injured Kenny Pickett in Week 6 of the 2022 season and helped Pittsburgh close out a win over Tom Brady's Buccaneers. 

Trubisky played well in a win over the Panthers later that season, but his overall struggles in Pittsburgh ultimately led to his low spot on this list. 

10. Devlin Hodges 

  • Record: 3-3 

The man known as "Duck" earned folk hero status during his brief run as Pittsburgh's starting quarterback in 2019. An undrafted rookie that season, Hodges won his first three starts while helping the Ben Roethlisberger-less Steelers improve to 8-5. 

Hodges and the Steelers eventually came back to reality, though, losing their final three games to miss the playoffs. Hodges never made another start after that season and retired from football in 2022. 

9. Dennis Dixon 

  • Record: 2-1 

The former Oregon star did his part in helping the Steelers start their most recent Super Bowl season with a Week 1 win over Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons. He got hurt against the Buccaneers a week later, thus ending his brief run that season as the Steelers' starting quarterback. 

Dixon's first NFL start took place one year earlier. He played well in that game in nearly leading the Steelers to an upset win in Baltimore on prime time. 

8. Michael Vick 

  • Record: 2-1 

Vick's final NFL games were played for the Steelers during the first half of the 2015 season. His time in Pittsburgh was short, but he did author an epic game-winning drive against the Chargers on "Monday Night Football" that ended with Le'Veon Bell's walk-off touchdown run. 

7. Landry Jones 

  • Record: 3-2 

Jones never saw the field during his first three seasons. In 2015, he was rushed onto he field when Vick went down with an injury against the Cardinals. Jones quickly turned a tight game into a runaway by connecting with Martavis Bryant for two touchdowns. 

The former Oklahoma quarterback made three more starts in his Pittsburgh career that included season-ending wins over Cleveland in 2016 and 2017. 

6. Charlie Batch 

  • Record: 6-3 

Batch benefitted by playing with some great teams, which is why he isn't ranked as high as he probably should be. But while he did have the luxury of leaning on that talent to win games at times, Batch also made his fair share of big plays in clutch moments. He went 2-0 as Pittsburgh's starter during their 2005 Super Bowl run. Batch split his two starts during the Steelers' AFC title run in 2010. 

He forever etched his name in Steelers lore (while cementing his unofficial title as Pittsburgh's greatest backup quarterback ever) by leading Pittsburgh to an upset win in Baltimore in 2012. 

5. Kenny Pickett 

  • Record: 14-10 

Pickett showed signs of promise, particularly at the end of the 2022 season, when he won his last three starts. But injuries, inconsistent play and offensive coordinator issues contributed to his time in Pittsburgh coming to an abrupt end after just two years. Russell Wilson's arrival was ultimately the last straw. 

4. Mason Rudolph 

  • Record: 8-4-1

Rudolph edged out Pickett because of his play at the end of the 2023 season. With Pittsburgh's season in the balance, Rudolph won each of his three starts while helping the Steelers clinch a playoff berth. He completed a whopping 74.4% of his passes last season and was Pittsburgh's first quarterback not named Ben Roethlisberger to start a playoff game since 2002. 

3. Tommy Maddox 

  • Record: 15-16-1 

Maddox parlayed an MVP season in the XFL into an unlikely run as the Steelers' quarterback. He led Pittsburgh to a division title in 2002 and threw for 367 yards and three touchdowns in the Steelers' comeback win over the Browns in that year's wild card round. 

2. Kordell Stewart 

  • Record: 46-29 

"Slash" started in two AFC title games for the Steelers. He finished fourth in the league MVP voting in 2001 while setting a then-franchise single-season record for completion percentage. Stewart's 11 rushing touchdowns remains the most by a Steelers quarterback for a single season. 

1. Ben Roethlisberger 

  • Record: 165-81-1 

No surprise here. Arguably the greatest quarterback in franchise history, Roethlisberger won two Super Bowls and three AFC titles during his 18-year career in Pittsburgh. He endeared himself to Steelers fans with his throwback style of play.