ORLANDO, Fla. -- The future could be now for the Pittsburgh Steelers at quarterback.
The team isn't in any hurry to begin life without Ben Roethlisberger, but Mike Tomlin admitted Monday at the NFL meetings that the evaluation process of a potential successor at quarterback is taking place and has been done for the past several years.
Tomlin, who had just wrapped up his meetings as a member of the league's Competition Committee, said he and Kevin Colbert have been looking harder and longer at quarterbacks since Roethlisberger reached his 30s.
"It probably goes back beyond two years," Tomlin said. "I just think it's prudent business practice when your quarterback is in his 30s. You'd better know what the market looks like. You'd better go through the evaluation and stacking process, whether or not you're a true player in that or if it's a dry run. Kevin and I have taken that approach for a number of years. At some point, it's going to be real. Maybe it is this year. I just know the experience we've gained in terms of having that mentality has been helpful to us. Ultimately, that will be measured when we get to that point. But I like the work. I like the attitude regarding it."
Roethlisberger is coming off a season in which he overcame a slow start to throw for 4,251 yards, 28 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 15 games. He sat out the team's meaningless regular season finale against Cleveland.
After offensive coordinator Todd Haley was replaced in the offseason with quarterbacks coach Randy Fichtner, a move Tomlin said was just the "nature of the business," Roethlisberger told teammates he wants to play at least three more years.
But those thoughts can change quickly. And the Steelers want to be prepared when they reach the point at which they have to draft the eventual replacement for their franchise quarterback.
That draft could be this season. With five or even six quarterbacks expected to be selected in the first round of the NFL draft at the end of April, the Steelers have been sniffing around some of the quarterbacks who could potentially fall to them. The Steelers aren't in prime position to select a quarterback with the 28th-overall selection in the first round, meaning they won't have a shot at USC's Sam Darnold, UCLA's Josh Rosen, Wyoming's Josh Allen or Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield, none of whom are expected to last past the first 10 picks of the draft.
But Tomlin went to Stillwater, Okla., last week for Mason Rudolph's on-campus workout and will travel to Louisville, Ky., next week to do the same with Lamar Jackson.
Tomlin said he hasn't looked at the class as a whole and is instead focusing on the individual players.
"I haven't looked at it from that perspective yet. I haven't looked at it in terms of a class a lot," Tomlin said. "I'm just looking at the work of individuals. A week ago, I was out in Stillwater looking at Rudolph. Next week, I think I'm going to Louisville to see Jackson. I'm just gathering information."
Not that he already hasn't done some of that just watching them play on Saturdays. A self-described 'football junkie,' Tomlin takes in games whenever he can.
But he told me that he's not necessarily looking at them in terms of footwork, throwing motion and other quarterback-specific things that, for example, an offensive coordinator or quarterbacks coach would break down. He's looking at their intangibles.
"There's an element of evaluation but, more than anything, I don't look at them mechanically or things of that nature. I just look at what they do to produce victories for their teams," Tomlin said. "What type of leader are they? Do they inspire those around them? Are they positive contributors to their team's effort? Do they draw people in with their presence? What their play demeanor is like in the face of adversity, things of that nature. The evaluator in me moves to those things, not necessarily things you would probably put first in the evaluation process."
I asked Tomlin if those things are more or less important given the leadership qualities teams want from the quarterback position.
"You'd have to poll some coaches. I'm going to hold my cards," he said.
That kind of evaluation is all part of the process Tomlin enjoys at this time of year. He admitted that between the NFL Scouting Combine, NFL Competition Committee meetings and pro day visits, he hasn't been in Pittsburgh much in the past month.
But he also knows that this time of year is nearly as important in terms of what kind of team the Steelers will field in 2018 — and beyond — as offseason workouts and training camp. It's why he enjoys the process so much.
"It's team building. If you're in our business, team building is exciting," Tomlin said. "The possibilities are exciting. We're all undefeated and un-scored-upon at this time of year. I love getting out and meeting the young player in his environment. It's fun to watch him go through the process that is draft prep and see him at different points in the process and see how they evolved and how they improved, see how their knowledge grows throughout this process. I just love what (they) do. You enjoy all of that."