New Steelers QB Target Emerges after Tough Week at Senior Bowl

MOBILE, Ala. — The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t spend a lot of time scouting the quarterbacks at the 2024 Senior Bowl this week, but the ones they looked at probably didn’t impress much, as Oregon’s Bo Nix and Washington’s Michael Penix struggled in their battle of hyped-up potential first rounders.

But the Steelers might be looking into a passer that didn’t make the trip to Mobile.

Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis was injured late in the Seminoles’ season, suffered a broken leg that cost him his final three collegiate games and likely cost Florida State a shot in the College Football Playoff.

Travis is still not recovered from his injury, though he did attend the East-West Shrine Bowl practices to interview with teams. But the Steelers were there and did their due diligence on Travis, and with the Senior Bowl quarterbacks disappointing, that could be paying off. 

It might be a coincidence, but in the midst of a mediocre week for Senior Bowl quarterbacks, ESPN predicted on Thursday that the Steelers will land Travis with their third-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

A 6-foot-1, 201-pound right-handed quarterback from West Palm Beach, Florida, Travis first started his college career at Louisville. He played in only three games with the Cardinals in 2018, and transferred closer to home at Florida State in 2019.

Travis didn’t play extensively until 2020, when he played eight games and threw for 1,000 yards for the first time in his career. He more than tripled that Toal in his breakout season in 2022, when Travis finished 226 of 353 for 3,214 yards, 24 touchdowns and five interceptions. 

He was on pace to best those marks when he was injured early in FSU’s win over North Alabama on Nov. 18. Travis has started throwing again, but did not participate in any on-field drills at the Shrine Bowl in Frisco, Texas this week.