The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a QB problem since the legendary Ben Roethlisberger retired a few years back in 2022. They have started Mitchell Trubisky, Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph, Justin Fields, and Russell Wilson in the past three seasons. Steelers GM Omar Khan and Head Coach Mike Tomlin have tried several strategies such as bringing in a rookie, former high draft picks, and a proven veteran. None of which have worked out in their favor and it’s leading to Hall of Fame bound Tomlin to be put on the hot seat despite never having a losing season. Fans and critics will point out how they have not made it passed the first round of the playoffs since 2016. Let that sink in. It has been almost a decade since the Steelers have made it out of the Wild Card round of the NFL Playoffs, even though they have never been below .500 in any of those seasons. With their struggles on offense, especially as of late, you can’t help but to look at the Quarterback position due to the lack of stability and talent, so what should the Steelers do for their 2025-26 Campaign?
Aaron Rodgers
The most expected outcome seems to be the team landing the 4x MVP Aaron Rodgers who is coming off a disappointing season with the Jets. Despite New York falling short of expectations last season, Rodgers himself didn’t have a terrible year with 3,897 passing yards, 28 touchdowns to 11 interceptions, a passer rating of 90.5, and a 63% completion percentage. Definitely showing his age coming off of an ACL tear, but also proving that he can still play at an NFL level. Sure he may not be the Aaron Rodgers of the past, but many in the Pittsburgh front office believe he can contribute to a winning football team. That being said there are definitely negatives that come with signing Aaron Rodgers to your football team. The biggest being all of the off field controversy that comes with him. We all saw the crazy amount of stories that came out of his tenure with the Jets, whether it was him being heavily involved with the former Packer signings or being rumored as a big reason for Salah’s mid-season firing. He isn’t going to give his all to football anymore with other things outside of the sport occupying his mind. Aaron is also pushing 42 years old, which means that he isn’t a long term solution for any team with his decline already happening. The question for the Steelers becomes why would they want to bring in a declining, aging quarterback who comes with a lot of off field baggage? The only reason Tomlin and co would even think about this move is because they genuinely think the team can win now with a competent QB at the helm. Now if Aaron Rodgers can be that is up for debate, but him being a Pittsburgh Steeler is a real possibility as we inch closer to the start of the pre-season.
21st Overall Pick
Another likely possibility for Pittsburgh is selecting a Quarterback with their 21st overall draft pick. One prospect is Jaxon Dart out of Ole Miss who has been gaining hype as the pre draft process goes on. He is getting comparisons to Bo Nix with the two’s combine results being similar. Dart has been on Pittsburgh’s radar since the beginning of free agency with rumors of him going to the team coming out since before the combine. Since then Jaxon Dart’s stock has been on the rise more and more with teams like the rival Cleveland Browns showing interest as well by extending a visit to the Ole Miss QB. While Dart’s draft stock has gone up as of late, Shedeur Sanders’ has gone down recently. With that being said Tomlin and the Steelers have shown major interest in taking Sanders at 21 if he falls to them. Pittsburgh had a visit to him and with how polarizing a player Shedeur can be, it could be a serious possibility that he ends up a Steeler. He was a top five lock a month ago for a reason, he has serious talent, but outside of that talent is the concern with his effort and personality being rumored to be Shedeur’s problem. The idea of trading up for Cam Ward or any other Quarterback doesn’t seem to be there with a class as weak at the position. Leaving the Steelers’ front office with few options going into draft night.
Mason Rudolph
At the end of the day the Steelers need to make a decision of what they want to do at the Quarterback position sooner rather than later. Right now they have Mason Rudolph as their starter and that won’t get them far in the 2025-26 season. He most recently got crushed as the backup to Will Levis showing that he doesn’t have what it takes to be an even average starter in the league. Along with that the last time the Steelers gave Rudolph the reigns the team got smacked by the Bills in the Wild card round back in 2024. They have no choice but to choose between two strategies they’ve done before. Either draft a young QB in the late first round and hope you can develop him, like they tried and failed to do with Kenny Pickett. Or they go ahead and sign an older veteran who they hope can lead them on a deep playoff run with limited gas in the tank, which is what they attempted last season with Russell Wilson. They tried and failed with both of these methods and with the draft class not being top heavy, it’s not like they can do anything aggressive on draft night. Leaving the Steelers with a major question mark at the Quarterback decision for the 4th season in a row no matter who their starter ends up being. This is a heavy decision on Tomlin’s mind especially with his job in Pittsburgh maybe being on the line. It all depends on whether or not he can get the right man to lead this team and finally pass the wild card round.
