PITTSBURGH — The Steelers might still be looking for quarterback clarity when they begin spring practices next month, but no matter who the starting quarterback is, Mike Tomlin should have open tryouts among his other offensive players to see who is best at taking a snap from under center.

The "Tush Push" — the short-yardage play popularized in recent years by the Philadelphia Eagles — doesn't appear to be going anywhere, at least not in 2025. Discussions at the NFL owner's meetings this week were tabled until next month because there were not enough votes to outlaw the play.

The Steelers were one of 16 teams to vote in favor of banning the play, but eight more votes are needed to make a rules change. That's unlikely to change in the next month, so the play the Eagles have made famous — or infamous in some league circles — is likely going to be legal again next season.

For the Steelers, if you can't ban the rule, you better get on the train and learn how to exploit it to your advantage.

The Packers proposed banning the play for safety reasons. Perhaps that was viewed as the best path to get the rule changed, but the injury data the league collected did not point to an increase in injuries during the play.

The reason the Steelers and most other teams wanted the change was because of the simple fact that it's not a "football play." It resembles rugby or football from the early 1900s, when the game was first being adapted.

Football purists don't want to dumb down the modern version of the game to a scrum. They believe in strategy and coach and player creativity.

"I would say that there are definitely some people that have health and safety concerns, but there's just as many people that have football concerns," said competition committee chairman Rich McKay said. "... I wouldn't say it was because of one particular health and safety video or discussion. It was much more about the play, the aesthetics of the play — is it what football has been traditionally, is it more a rugby play?"

Steelers president Art Rooney II and others are concerned the idea of aiding players whose forward progressed is stopped is seeping into plays other than the Tush Push, as well.

"It also got into a discussion about other similar kinds of plays where we have these scrums downfield, where guys are pushing the pile, and why aren't we addressing that while we're addressing this?" Rooney said. "So it got into a number of different things that came up that, I guess, just seemed like it was better off tabling it and coming back and talking about it more later."

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he is in favor of the competition committee looking at all aspects of pushing and pulling when the owners convene again next month. If eight owners can be swayed, there might be some action taken, but for now teams have to operate as if the Tush Push will be a legal play in 2025.

The Steelers now have to embrace the Tush Push. They have to make the play an important part of their identity.

The Eagles mastered the play, coach Nick Sirianni said, because they practice it a lot. They have a young, strong and athletic quarterback in Jalen Hurts.

The Steelers have to find someone with his skill set to run the play. If Aaron Rodgers is their quarterback next season, they won't put him in harm's way all that often. But they can draft a player like Alabama's Jalen Milroe, who can come into games in short-yardage situations.

Other teams don't even bother having backup quarterbacks execute the play. The Ravens, for example, have tight end Mark Andrews run the play, and he's very adept at doing it.

Who is going to stop 6-foot-4, 210-pound receiver DK Metcalf from getting a yard if they put him under center? Especially if they have 6-foot-8, 300-pound tight end Darnell Washington going in motion and pushing Metcalf from behind?

Talk about an unstoppable play.

If the Steelers don't want to have their $30 million receiver take the hits, then have H-back Connor Heyward do it. Anyone who can take a snap from the center and be nimble enough to stay on his feet while being pushed is a candidate. Heck, if Washington takes the snap and is pushed forward, he'd gain 2 yards every time.

And there is nothing preventing teams from being creative with the play. Offensive coordinators can introduce play-action passes off the formation. How about quarterback jump passes to tight ends who slip out into the middle of the field behind the linebackers? The possibilities are endless.

There might come a time when the NFL does ban the Tush Push, but until then, the Steelers have to be smart and make the play work for them rather than working against it.

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