Unpopular Opinion: It’s okay that the 2025 Steelers season is a bridge year

When the Pittsburgh Steelers are in the dreaded long offseason, there are plenty of ideas to debate. As part of the triumphant trio on the Steelers Preview podcast, I’ve been known to often give a “Dave answer“ to various things as I often like to argue both sides of an issue. With this in mind, a new weekly segment has been born… Unpopular opinion.

There are plenty of arguments both for and against the Pittsburgh Steelers that might not go along with the majority of fans. Oftentimes I believe in these arguments, while other times I simply like to pose a counter argument for ones that are taking it too much to the extreme. For this reason, I’m going to offer some points about the Pittsburgh Steelers that go against the general fan narrative, or at least how I have heard things.

Next up is the notion of the Steelers being in a bridge year and how it’s not a terrible thing…

It’s okay that the 2025 Steelers season is a bridge year

This week’s topic came to me courtesy of Jeff Hartman and Bryan Anthony Davis. Jeff brought up the idea to me of 2025 being a bridge year while Bryan added how it’s okay if it is.

First of all, this seems like the first definitive bridge year the Steelers had going into the season for quite some time, particularly when looking at the quarterback position. An argument could be made for 2022 with Mitch Trubisky as the starter and Kenny Pickett as someone who could take over the reins, but there was the potential that Trubisky was the answer it would have just started a new era. The 2024 season could also be argued as a bridge from a quarterback perspective with the Steelers completely revamping the room, but one of those players could have been the answer going forward.

When it comes to 2025, it is not a widespread opinion that the Steelers quarterback of the future is on the roster. It’s possible that Will Howard could be a diamond in the rough for the Steelers, but that’s not the overwhelming expectation. As for Mason Rudolph, it’s not impossible for him to suddenly become a greater quarterback than he has shown thus far in his career, but the odds are he is more in the range of what he has previously shown before.

For this reason, it is believe that the Steelers quarterback of the future is still not on the team, giving the argument that this is a bridge year.

Looking at the offense further, the fact that the Steelers have some potential young players at wide receiver but a lot of unknowns is another indication of a bridge year. With the offensive line having a lot of pedigree but being in a key season for them to show that they are the future, this might not be the perfect year for them to achieve all that they could be. Even at the running back position, the Steelers have two players on one-year contracts and a recently drafted rookie. It’s easy to say with all of these positions that the Steelers need to see if they have got the right pieces or if they need to look for upgrades.

Defensively, it doesn’t feel like a bridge year. This is a veteran defense that has hopefully improved with their additions, but most fans realize that in today’s NFL it’s a lot about building the offense.

So now that the argument has been made that the Steelers are likely entering a bridge season, what about it makes it okay?

The reason for this is simple… a bridge year does not necessarily mean a down year.

Yes, the Steelers could have some things fall apart and have a worse record than they have seen in quite some time. If that is the case, at least they will have a higher draft pick for 2026. But it might not be the case.

The last time I feel the Steelers came into the season with what could be believed to be a bridge year was actually in 2004. Looking at the quarterback position, the Steelers drafted Ben Roethlisberger but he was third on the depth chart going into training camp. It was supposed to be another season of Tommy Maddox and Charlie Batch, two quarterbacks who were not the future of the franchise, as Roethlisberger prepared to hopefully lead the team significantly in 2005.

But as we all know, that’s not how it worked out. Roethlisberger was thrust into the lineup the second week of the season, and when he started in Week 3, the Steelers rattled off 14 wins to finish the regular season. The Steelers defense went from a unit that was borderline top 10 in the league to lead the NFL in both the least yardage surrendered and the fewest points. Additionally, the offensive line was strong and the Steelers leaned heavily on the run game. Their quarterback wasn’t asked to do too much as the team notched victory after victory.

Still, even at 15–1, it could still be viewed as a bridge year for the Steelers. Ultimately they won the Super Bowl the next season. Going into 2004, it was not expected that the Steelers would call on Roethberger so early and that they could pull off that many victories. It was still a phenomenal ride for a year that was supposed to be getting ready for bigger things to come.

I know 2025 is different than 2004. Although the defense from the previous season is coming in higher ranked than 2003, the quarterback situation isn’t the same. There is a good chance that the Steelers future of the franchise QB is still not on the roster. Seeing that quarterback come into action during a bridge year in 2004 did make a big difference, and it’s not likely to be the same scenario in 2025.

Even if 2025 is a bridge year for the Pittsburgh Steelers, particularly because they don’t have a quarterback that is expected to lead the franchise into the future, it doesn’t mean that they couldn’t have a fun and exciting season. We just have to wait to see how it all plays out.

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