Time is money, so patience doesn’t always pay off. There’s a fine line between caution and caginess. For a quarterback, both in a literal and figurative sense, being too patient can cause you to miss your window of opportunity. Window to pierce the secondary and find your wide receiver. Or window to take that leap of faith and ascend to the NFL while you’ve still got more proponents than skeptics. Unfortunately, Quinn Ewers may just have been a little too patient when he decided to return to the collegiate level for that one extra year. A year that’s seen his performances and, by extension, perception across league circles nosedive.

A consensus 5-star out of high school, Quinn Ewers was eyed as yet another instance of the state of Texas producing an NFL-caliber QB. That did seem to be transpiring too, as he honed his skills and got better each passing year through college. However, the 2024 off-season proved to, in hindsight, be a line in the sand. Ewers seemed destined to forego the remainder of his eligibility and declare for the Draft. But there was a problem. Last year’s quarterback class was arguably the most stacked one ever. Certainly, since the turn of the century, 6 QBs have been drafted in the Top 12. The sheer amount of competition meant Ewers decided to return to Austin and the Longhorns. A rational decision that seems to have not worked out, as reinforced by one analyst.

Quinn Ewers’ 2024 season didn’t just entail stagnation- it was a bit of a decline. Perhaps the biggest reason was health. Now conceded, Ewers had been battling injuries previously as well. He missed time in ‘23 with an AC joint sprain. However, 2024 was more brutal both on his body and his ability to stay mobile and just quarterback in general. Week 3 was a second line in the proverbial sand, as he went down with an oblique injury. Ewers missed time till Week 7. But you could argue he never returned at all, at least not the version of him we were used to. Ewers went through a stretch of some rather mundane performances between then and the end of the season. Post which it was revealed he never really recovered from that injury and was pushing through it. 

Whether that was factual or mere damage control to plug the hole on his leaking draft stock, Pro Football Focus’ Steve Palazzolo reckons we may have been “robbed” of what Quinn Ewers was destined for, owing to persistent injuries. Discussing Ewers over his Check the Mic podcast, Palazzolo said, “There was a point earlier in the year when I thought the trajectory was on its way up.” He pointed to this being Week 2 against Michigan, right before the injury. “He got hurt again and then tried to play through it, and his game was far more inconsistent. It was never there. Look, he may have never gotten there, and injury aside, he may never progress. But that’s what I was keeping an eye on,” continued Palazzolo. Injury aside, he even dissected some chinks in Ewers armor, holes in his repetoire as a player.

Steve Palazzolo pointed to Ewers’ deep passing, leaving a lot to be desired. Which is especially problematic because of the deep threats he’s had the opportunity to throw to during his time with Texas. Namely, Xavier Worthy and Matthew Golden, two of the fastest receivers in football. To be fair, Ewers did throw some lasers downfield at both the Combine and on Pro Day. But he doesn’t possess a canon. Plus, battling a lower-body injury also means you cannot put the same vim behind passes. Think how basketball players struggle from behind the arc, since they cannot put their legs behind the shot. Alas, these physical deficiencies don’t seem to have bothered Steelers’ HC Mike Tomlin too much. Who’s explicitly stated that he and the franchise are open to the idea of drafting Ewers.

Mike Tomlin cosigns Quinn Ewers as a NFL quarterback

The Pittsburgh Steelers are stuck in 3rd gear. Not bad enough to gut the team out and rebuild, and not good enough to break this glass ceiling that seems to be hovering over them. Since Big Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement, the franchise hasn’t really found a successor. Could Quinn Ewers be cultivated into one? Mike Tomlin seems to think so.

During the 2025 Annual League Meeting, Tomlin named 3 quarterbacks he assesses as NFL-level prospects. “[GM] Omar [Khan] and I just got off on a nice tour…we were at Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Texas—our last three trips. I think all three of those institutions have quarterbacks that are draft eligible,” he said. After that Kenny Pickett selection in round one of 2022 failed, Tomlin’s perhaps a little trigger-shy on drafting a quarterback high. Riley Leonard of Notre Dame, Will Howard of OSU, and, of course, Quinn Ewers are projected to be mid to late-round picks.

The Steelers are currently touted to sign free agent Aaron Rodgers to a short-term deal. If Quinn Ewers hypothetically ends up in Pittsburgh, it presents as a bit of a dream scenario. Learn the ropes from two future HOFers in Tomlin and Rodgers, at a franchise that’s perpetually successful and a stable environment conducive to growth. Albeit not one for QBs historically. From Ewers’ perspective, he’d just hope someone looks past his injury struggles and takes a stab at the obvious talent he possesses. Currently being slated as a Day 3 pick, he could be one of the steals of this draft class.