PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers are between A. Rodgers and a tough place.
The 2025 league 12 months is 2 weeks previous, and the Steelers have two quarterbacks on their roster as they await a call from four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers, although, does not look like in any hurry to make up his thoughts concerning the subsequent step in his profession. The primary-time free agent took a go to to Pittsburgh final week, spending six hours within the follow facility assembly with coach Mike Tomlin, normal supervisor Omar Khan, workforce proprietor and president Artwork Rooney II and a number of other coaches, together with offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.
Regardless of the automobile wash of conversations, Rodgers left Pittsburgh with out agreeing to a deal. The previous Jet and Packer is seemingly working with out a deadline whilst his choices slim. The Giants, a onetime Rodgers suitor, signed Russell Wilson to a one-year deal Tuesday night time, whereas the Vikings made it clear that 2024 first-round choose J.J. McCarthy is their precedence shifting ahead.
That seemingly leaves Rodgers pondering three sensible choices at this juncture: turning into a Steeler, turning into a retiree or ready till a quarterback-needy workforce comes calling nearer to coaching camp. However Rodgers has by no means been one to let others dictate the tempo of his decision-making, giving him an indefinite deadline.
The Steelers, although, do not have the posh of time. They reunited with 2018 third-round choose Mason Rudolph, signing him to a two-year deal and giving themselves a quarterback with beginning expertise in a room that additionally contains the Dolphins’ seventh-round choose in 2022, Skylar Thompson.
The longer Rodgers’ resolution drags out, the less choices accessible to the Steelers. The identical day Rodgers visited the Steelers, 2015 first-round choose Jameis Winston signed with the Giants. 4 days later, the Giants added Wilson, leaving few veteran quarterbacks with beginning expertise accessible in an already unimpressive free company class. The nearer the Steelers get to the draft — which kicks off in lower than a month — the extra pressing determining a contingency plan turns into.
Let’s discuss a world the place the Steelers do not land Rodgers. Khan stated on the NFL mix all quarterback choices had been on the desk, however the Steelers’ place setting is shortly being cleared by impatient bussers. Let’s check out the 2 probably remaining situations.
Add a new-to-Pittsburgh veteran QB with beginning expertise
Signing one other veteran to pair with Rudolph would sign the Steelers are firmly within the hunt to draft a 2026 quarterback. Not one of the accessible choices undertaking to be greater than bridge quarterbacks to a stronger draft class, and a veteran from this group may compete with Rudolph for the beginning job by means of coaching camp.
With Winston and Wilson sure for the New York Giants, there are solely a handful of remaining accessible free agent quarterbacks who performed not less than 25% of their workforce’s offensive snaps for not less than two seasons: Joe Flacco, Carson Wentz, Drew Lock, Case Keenum and Desmond Ridder. Teddy Bridgewater technically counts in that class, however he unretired to affix the Lions in December a season in the past. There is not any indication he needs to proceed placing his burgeoning teaching profession on maintain to play one other season.
Former Ravens and Dolphins quarterback Tyler Huntley performed 27.6% of the Dolphins’ offensive snaps in 2024, and he noticed motion in a shade beneath 25% of the Ravens’ snaps in 2022.
Different accessible veterans who’ve began not less than one sport embody Trey Lance, Josh Johnson and Jeff Driskel.
Of these potential choices, essentially the most sensible to pair with Rudolph would appear to be Flacco and Wentz. Flacco, who turned 40 in January, has the latest beginning expertise. In eight video games for the Colts final season, the 2008 Ravens first-round choose accomplished 65.3% of throws with 12 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. Of the accessible veteran free brokers, Flacco is essentially the most much like Rudolph. Whereas Rudolph, a decade Flacco’s junior, is extra cell, they’re each strong-armed pocket passers and have the same stature. Signing Flacco would fall in keeping with the choice Rooney II expressed in his end-of-season information convention to have a quarterback room with gamers of the same talent set.
Although Wentz began just one sport final season and tried simply 20 passes, the Eagles’ first-round choose from 2016 is an intriguing choice if the Steelers forgo the Flacco route. Wentz’s final season as a starter got here in 2022 with Washington the place he went 2-4 to begin earlier than breaking his finger, giving method to Taylor Heinicke, who continued to begin even when Wentz was cleared to return. Wentz threw 11 touchdowns to 9 interceptions in eight video games that season, however since then, he is spent a season with the L.A. Rams and the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs.
Draft a quarterback
Cease me in case you’ve heard this earlier than: Choosing at No. 21, the Steelers want a quarterback, however the top-tier of the draft class lacks depth. The Steelers, after all, had been in the same place in 2022 after Ben Roethlisberger retired. That 12 months, they signed Mitchell Trubisky and chosen Kenny Pickett, the primary quarterback off the board, with the No. 20 total choose. However when the Steelers choose this 12 months, not less than two quarterbacks will doubtless be gone in Miami’s Cam Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders.
Meaning the Steelers may both attempt to orchestrate an unprecedented, blockbuster commerce to leapfrog the quarterback-needy Titans and Giants on the prime of the draft — which is more and more unlikely — or they may see how the board falls because it will get nearer to their flip and make a play for Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart or Louisville’s Tyler Shough to compete with Rudolph for the beginning job.
“I believe Jaxson Dart is in play sooner than [21],” ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. stated. “Now if he is there, it might be actually fascinating. In the event that they love him, you are taking him. Tyler Shough from Louisville — take a look at the scale he’s. He is bought the arm. Ran nicely on the mix. I did not see it at all times translate to the sector. And he had these three years of accidents at Texas Tech. He will be 26 developing throughout the 12 months, however he will be in play for the second [round]. Might he go within the first? Perhaps. Would not shock me now if you’re listening to all this positivity popping out of varied individuals’s mouths once I discuss to associates within the league.”
They may additionally take a flier on a extra developmental prospect with a mid- or late-round choose to affix the workforce as Rudolph’s backup. It is also price noting the Steelers do not presently have a second-round choose after sending it to Seattle as part of the DK Metcalf commerce compensation.
They may take a look at Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, whom Tomlin dined with forward of the quarterback’s professional day, both with a commerce again into the second spherical or maybe within the third spherical. However for all of Milroe’s constructive traits as an explosive, cell quarterback, his inconsistencies make projecting his professional potential troublesome.
“He is simply so inconsistent in brief, intermediate areas with passes,” Kiper stated. “With passes that must be layups, [he] simply misfires. … He had video games the place you would say if he would’ve bottled that one sport or this sport and performed that persistently, sure, you’d have been speaking about him within the mid-first, nevertheless it simply wasn’t, it was the erratic play. The expertise is there.
“Second-round most likely for Jalen Milroe. However [the Steelers] do not have a two, so in case you do not pull the set off within the first spherical, you have to wait till the third spherical, except you progress up.”
Tomlin and the Steelers’ brass had been additionally at Texas’ professional day, the place amongst different prospects, they noticed quarterback Quinn Ewers.
The truth is there aren’t many nice choices if the Steelers fail to land Rodgers. The most effective-case situation is discovering a pair quarterbacks to carry the workforce over till a talent-rich 2026 class. And that blockbuster commerce thought for 2025? It is much more sensible subsequent 12 months when the Steelers determine to reap the compensatory advantages of dropping two quarterbacks, a beginning left sort out and a beginning operating again in free company, and a surplus of picks makes it loads simpler to maneuver up within the draft.
However simply getting by with a patchwork quarterback room and the promise of subsequent 12 months is a troublesome promote for a company confronted with the rising urgency of growing old defensive stars and a playoff victory drought that extends practically a decade. Rodgers may not be the reply to ending that streak, however there aren’t every other apparent options on the market, both.
