For a change, it’s not just the local media and fans in Pittsburgh willing to be critical of the Steelers. As a collective, the national media has far too often lashed back and mocked local frustrations over the Steelers. Now, some in those positions are lending a critique of the competitive malaise in which the Steelers are perpetually cloaked.

Don’t get too excited. I’m not saying the national refrain of “Don’t you realize Mike Tomlin has never had a losing season?!” is going away. I’m just starting to notice that at least some outside of Pittsburgh are starting to realize that maybe the Steelers are getting a little too cozy with being just good enough not to stink.

Over the past week or so, the likes of “Football Morning in America’s” Peter King, “Sharp Football” analytics expert Warren Sharp and Fox Sports’ Colin Cowherd have all taken the Steelers to task for their apparent comfort at the quarterback position.

Specifically, their incredulity seems to be stoked by reports from this outlet and others, that the Steelers appear content to give Kenny Pickett the keys back to the car for the 2024 season after being shelved in favor of Mason Rudolph down the stretch of last season — to the point he was healthy enough to play in the regular-season finale and the playoffs, but Rudolph started both games anyway.

Not only that, but sources leading to those reports have also indicated that the Steelers seem to be prioritizing Kenny Pickett’s comfort level as the starting quarterback as opposed to bolstering depth at the position behind him.

Forget going out to acquire Kirk Cousins, Russell Wilson or Justin Fields. That may even mean letting Rudolph walk in free agency.

With or without Rudolph, King described that idea as “colossal misjudgment.” Such reports have led Sharp to post that the Pittsburgh franchise “has become unserious.” Cowherd says the Steelers have been underachieving since the end of the Ben Roethlisberger era.

If Cowherd means since roughly the 2017 season, the “0” in the playoff wins column over that seven-year stretch is a pretty good validation of that argument.

To be fair to the Steelers, no one, nationally or locally, should be condemning them for a sin they haven’t committed yet. Maybe they will bolster the QB room. Maybe Kenny Pickett will have to go through a legitimate starting quarterback battle, despite some of the Easter eggs we have seen dropped throughout the offseason suggesting otherwise.

Frankly, even if they don’t, committing to Pickett in and of itself isn’t blasphemous.

Pickett is a first-round pick heading into his third year, and he’s getting a new offensive coordinator. They want to give him a chance to show growth under better circumstances before the decision must be made on his fifth-year option.

That might be naive. That might be stubborn. That might just be flat-out dumb.

Maybe it’s all three. But committing to Pickett isn’t a football felony.

However, the possibility that they are prioritizing his feelings or his sense of security over improving depth at the position if he bombs out again very much is a middle finger in the face of everything the franchise allegedly stands for.

That’s not tough. That’s not merit-based. That’s not professional. That’s not championship-level thinking.

That’s further building a nest for someone who actually should be on the verge of being kicked out of it.

I can buy any explanation the franchise may end up giving about why Cousins, Fields, Wilson or Baker Mayfield isn’t worth acquiring. Any of those guys may be too expensive, too old, too injury-prone, or just not good enough in the Steelers’ eyes.

Honestly, if this franchise wasn’t in such a dire QB situation, I’d view all those guys that same way too. The same goes for Rudolph, who may get more money than his resume suggests just to be a “1-B” quarterback at best with some other team next year.

If we were talking about any other option besides turning to an unchallenged Pickett as the starter in 2024, I’d be on board with taking a hard pass on all those options.

But we aren’t. This is the Steelers’ reality:

1. Just go with Pickett and a random, marginal “TBA” backup.

2. Try to improve by getting someone better than Pickett.

3. At the very least, have a legit “plan B” if Pickett doesn’t work out in ‘24. That means at least keeping Rudolph.

If the Steelers don’t do at least one of those last two options, then Sharp is right: this franchise really “has become unserious.”

And I’ll have a serious problem with that come training camp at Saint Vincent College.