MY PLAN AT QUARTERBACK

Here's an excerpt from my latest TribLive.com column:

For Steelers fans, the big takeaway from the Super Bowl is that Seattle has had one losing season in 14, that you don’t have to burn it down to build it back up. OK, but you do have to get a franchise quarterback. The Seahawks signed Sam Darnold to a three-year, $100.5 million contract. New England went 4-13 in 2023, drafted Drake Maye in 2024. The Steelers are going to run it back with a 42-year-old.

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The Steelers, as usual, have no plan beyond winning the next game. Zero big-picture thinking.

Here's what the Steelers should do at quarterback:

*Sign free agent Malik Willis, who impressed as a backup at Green Bay this past season. Willis, 26, has the mobility that's very nearly required for success at QB in today's NFL. He's come a long way since being a third-round pick out of FBS school Liberty in 2022. He'd cost about $40 million on a two-year deal.

*Draft a quarterback this year or (more likely) next year.

*Forget about Aaron Rodgers.

My plan gives the Steelers two potential paths out of the quarterback wilderness: Willis or the draft pick.

New coach Mike McCarthy is supposed to be a quarterback whisperer, right? You'd think McCarthy could hit on at least one out of two.

Instead, the Steelers will run it back with grandpa game-manager and hope for 10-7.

Ben Roethlisberger retired after the 2021 season and the Steelers still aren't close to solving their quarterback problem. They have an embarrassing lack of acumen when it comes to football's most important position.

One reason they won't sign Willis: They considered drafting him in '22 but instead took Kenny Pickett in the first round. Inking Willis now would remind everyone of the egregious mistake they made drafting Pickett. The Steelers don't like admitting mistakes, let alone re-living them.