Despite their struggles under center since the retirement of future Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger, the Pittsburgh Steelers are reportedly not looking to add a big-name quarterback via free agency or trade this offseason.

According to Mike DeFabo of The Athletic, the Steelers are not interested in signing Russell Wilson once his release from the Denver Broncos becomes official, nor are they pursuing Kirk Cousins or Baker Mayfield in free agency.

Dianna Russini of The Athletic also reported (h/t DeFabo) that Pittsburgh is not actively engaged in trade talks for Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields.

As of now, 2022 first-round pick Kenny Pickett is the only quarterback whom the Steelers have under contract for 2024.

Pittsburgh hoped it was selecting its next franchise quarterback when it took Pickett 20th overall in 2022, but the early returns haven't been great.

Over his first two NFL seasons, Pickett has gone 14-10 as a starter, but his numbers have left much to be desired. He's completed only 62.6 percent of his passes for 4,474 yards, 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

Pickett was replaced by veteran Mitchell Trubisky and then Mason Rudolph after getting injured last season, and he did not get the starting job back once he was healthy. Rudolph led Pittsburgh to a 3-0 record down the stretch and got the Steelers into the playoffs.

Rudolph could potentially be back in the fold next season, but he is an impending free agent, so it is far from guaranteed.

While Wilson, Cousins, Mayfield and Fields would all arguably be upgrades over Pickett, it seems as though the Steelers want to give him one more opportunity to establish himself as the long-term starter without another quarterback breathing down his neck.

Wilson, Cousins, Mayfield and Fields all figure to be starters somewhere in 2024, and it is doubtful that any of them would be content to sit behind Pickett.

The 35-year-old Wilson is a nine-time Pro Bowler and one-time Super Bowl winner who performed relatively well in Denver last season, completing 66.4 percent of his passes for 3,070 yards, 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Cousins, 35, was well on his way to the best season of his career with the Minnesota Vikings in 2023 before tearing his Achilles. The four-time Pro Bowler completed 69.5 percent of his passing attempts for 2,331 yards, 18 touchdowns and five picks in eight games prior to the injury.

Mayfield is coming off the best season of his NFL career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The 28-year-old completed 64.3 percent of his passes for 4,044 yards, 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, and he led the Bucs to an NFC South title and a playoff win en route to his first Pro Bowl selection.

Fields has the highest ceiling of any of the aforementioned quarterbacks since he is still only 25 and showed some improvement in 2023 with 2,562 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He added 657 yards and four scores on the ground in 13 games.

While Fields has plenty of untapped potential, the widespread belief is that the Bears will trade him and use the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft to take USC quarterback Caleb Williams.

If the Steelers pass on all of those quarterbacks, their options when it comes to Pickett's backup in 2024 will be to sign a lower-end veteran or to select one in the draft.

Since Pittsburgh owns the No. 20 overall pick in the draft, it will likely be outside the range of the top quarterbacks in Williams, North Carolina's Drake Maye, LSU's Jayden Daniels and Michigan's J.J. McCarthy. Instead, the Steelers would likely have to use that selection or a later pick on someone like Oregon's Bo Nix, Washington's Michael Penix Jr. or South Carolina's Spencer Rattler.

In terms of veteran backups, several good ones will be available in free agency, but Ryan Tannehill stands out as the best fit.

Tannehill had the best years of his NFL career with the Tennessee Titans in 2019 and 2020, which lines up with when new Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith was his OC.

Given Tannehill's struggles over the past few seasons, it is unlikely he would arrive in Pittsburgh with the demand or expectation of starting over Pickett.