The Pittsburgh Steelers’ standard is championships. However, they haven’t come close to meeting that goal for years. They haven’t even won a playoff game since the 2016 season. It’s unclear if that will change this year, too. The Steelers won’t even make the playoffs if they lose to the Baltimore Ravens Sunday night. James Harrison thinks it might be time for the Steelers to embrace a rebuild.

“I believe that, with the current defense we have, or should I say defensive ranking we have, without a veteran quarterback, we will be in the bottom,” Harrison said Friday on his Deebo and Joe podcast. “Maybe that’s what we need. We need to get ready, as Steeler fans, to be down for a couple years to be able to come back up. It’s gonna look, hopefully, something like what the Patriots did over the last few years.

“They’re gonna be down, they’re gonna get a new coach, they’re gonna come back up, and they’re gonna be where they are now. I feel like we’re gonna have to have that down year. We’re gonna be in the basement for a year or two to where we can get that quarterback and have that coach and coaching staff that can develop those players.”

The New England Patriots were consistently one of the best teams throughout the 2000s and 2010s. However, Tom Brady left them after the 2019 season, and they had a few middling years after that. That continued until they hit rock bottom in 2023, Bill Belichick’s final season as their head coach. The Patriots went 4-13 and hit a total reset following that.

After posting another 4-13 season in 2024, the Patriots are back among the top teams in the league. They’re 13-3, and they’ve found their next franchise quarterback in Drake Maye.

Could the Steelers follow that blueprint? Maybe, but it’s highly unlikely that they’d do that on purpose. The Steelers don’t tank. They haven’t had a losing season since 2003. While they always want to compete for Super Bowls, they put a lot of stock in winning in general.

Also, even if the Steelers have a down year or two, they probably wouldn’t fire Mike Tomlin. Steelers ownership has a lot of patience. If Tomlin leaves the Steelers, it will be his decision.

There’s no guarantee that tanking would fix the Steelers, either. Winning does a lot for a team. Look at how many teams have consistently picked near the top of the draft and still haven’t found a franchise quarterback. It’s much easier said than done. The Steelers don’t want to become the Cleveland Browns or New York Jets.

There are other ways to land a franchise quarterback, too. Perhaps the Steelers could trade up in the draft. They’ve got a lot of capital for the 2026 NFL Draft.

Tanking isn’t a switch that can be flipped on or off. If things start going poorly for the Steelers, there’s no telling when they’ll become contenders again. Fans might end up wishing for the team to simply make the playoffs again.