Steelers' Drama Free Offseason A Welcome Sight As Other AFC North Rivals Suffer Big Issues

Regardless of the weather and the news cycle, there is a gathering storm in Cincinnati and the Pittsburgh Steelers will be the beneficiaries. The Cincinnati Bengals have emerged as the class of the division for two consecutive seasons. They now are tied with the Baltimore Ravens with six division titles behind the Steelers’ nine division crowns since the AFC North was created 21 years ago. 

If you are good at math, you will realize that is precisely the number of available division titles. If you root for the Cleveland Browns, your team continues to have zero. Congratulations.

The AFC North is home to the biggest quarterback controversy in football that no one is talking about. Joe Burrow is eligible for a contract extension, and he does not have one. Unlike the Ravens, who are hopelessly mired in a Twitter war with their franchise-tagged quarterback, the Bengals have history. They have a rich history of being notoriously cheap and alienating their star players.

The Cincinnati Bengals have not won a Super Bowl, but they have been to the big game with three different franchise quarterbacks. They have lost to the San Francisco 49ers in two classic games and lost another heartbreaker to the Los Angeles Rams. It makes you wonder if they got to play a Super Bowl against a team who is not from California, would it put them over the top?

Ken Anderson was a great quarterback in the 1970s. He led the Bengals to their first Super Bowl in 1981 and played his entire career in Cincinnati. There was no free agency and he started 172 games for the Bengals. Anderson was a thorn in Pittsburgh and Terry Bradshaw’s side during the 1970s and early 1980s.

The Bengals' first franchise quarterback gave way to Boomer Esiason in 1986 and the Bengals returned to the Super Bowl in 1988. Esiason moved on peacefully when he was traded to the New York Jets in 1993 for a third-round pick.

Since those two great signal callers left the Bengals and free agency allowed players to move, the Bengals’ best players have consistently taken the train out of town in ugly disputes. Chad Ochocinco, Corey Dillon and Carson Palmer are just a few of the names the Bengals alienated and drove away. Palmer was the last franchise quarterback in Cincinnati with all due respect to Andy Dalton. The Bengals thoroughly mishandled Palmer and ultimately had to trade him to the Las Vegas Raiders.

Steelers fans will have front-row seats for the next implosion in the division, now that Burrow is eligible for a contract extension that Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen got after year three. Kyler Murray got a whopping $189 million guaranteed last offseason just by deleting the Arizona Cardinals from his social media. Lamar Jackson is catching daily flak, but everyone knew in 2021 that Mahomes and Allen were getting extended and everyone is assuming that Burrow is as well.  

Kenny Pickett Demonstrates Dedication To Winning In His First Offseason

The Steelers have Kenny Pickett under his rookie contract, and he is prohibited by the CBA from signing an extension until 2024. Deshaun Watson’s deal is fully guaranteed, and it is extremely unlikely he would renegotiate for less. Burrow is a far superior quarterback to last year’s crop that got record deals, is it likely he will take less? Every Day that goes by Pickett looks like the safest bet in the AFC North. He is not as talented as Burrow and Jackson, but he is going to play in 2023.

Talking heads are saving their vitriol for the Ravens QB like Mike Florio from Pro Football Talk who floated the possibility that Lamar Jackson might never play in the NFL again if he continues to hold out.

“He doesn’t want to play for the Ravens,” Florio blurted. “He’s not getting an offer that he is happy with. We can’t find a way to even get them in the same zip code. I think there is a chance he never plays again, I think there is a chance the train keeps rolling without him in 23 and then next year again, how do we break this? When does it change?”

 What happens if Burrow, who has an agent, decides he isn’t playing again until he gets a new contract? The pundits have all backed themselves into a corner by saying that if Jackson had an agent, he would not have let him step on the field after year three without an extension. It is after year three for Burrow and the Bengals and the bill is coming due. 

They have not paid the bill in the past and allowed themselves to fall into irrelevancy rather than pay up. 2023 will reveal if they can finally change their stripes or if the Steelers will benefit again from the “Bungles” mismanagement.