The Pittsburgh Steelers have been fortunate to have had two Hall of Fame quarterbacks in Terry Bradshaw and Ben Roethlisberger. But as Steeler Nation has learned since Big Ben’s retirement in 2021, outside of those two, the franchise hasn’t had much success or luck at the QB position. That trend continues into the 2025 offseason, as their poor handling of Justin Fields has left them with next to no viable options at quarterback.
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After the 2024 campaign, the Steelers were adamant they wanted to re-sign one of Fields and Russell Wilson, though the focus shifted pretty quickly to Fields. However, the team had benched him despite a 4-2 start to the year, and thereafter treated his return as something of a foregone conclusion. Well, he signed for two years and $40 million with the New York Jets on Monday, giving the Pittsburgh front office a real reality check.
With Geno Smith headed to the Raiders, Fields going to New York, and Sam Darnold signing with the Seattle Seahawks, there are not many reasonable options still out there for Pittsburgh on the quarterback free-agency market. That’s why they have been forced to pivot to what we can only assume was Plan B or Plan C: give Aaron Rodgers one more chance in the NFL.
As you might expect, the polarizing nature of Rodgers as well as the decrease in his quality of play last year meant that fans around the league had strong opinions about the possibility of the 41-year-old signing with Pittsburgh after the Fields option was wiped off the table by the Jets.
“Nooooooooooo now we’re stuck with Rodgers?! Just let Boswell play QB,” one such fan wrote under an Ari Meirov report.
Another fan mocked the Steelers’ handling of Fields, writing, Steelers saying they want Fields back after benching him with a 4-2 record and wanted to spin the block. Justin said…” followed by a GIF of Denzel Washington slamming a door shut.
A third Steelers fan, clearly feeling the frustration, summed it up with, “Justin Fields career as the Steelers franchise QB,” alongside a Simpsons “walk in, walk out” GIF.
There are a few other veteran options available in free agency, but they don’t look much better than Rodgers. Kirk Cousins should be available via trade, but after the way we saw his arm falter in the latter half of the 2024 season, Rodgers would still seem to be a better option. Don’t even get us started on the Daniel Jones rumors. That would be a black-and-gold disaster.
There is one more, however: Russell Wilson. He had been kind of ruled out as a possibility for the Steelers, but with the way the dominos have fallen, the door is definitely still open for Wilson to re-sign in the Steel City. His deep moonball would certainly suit their big play, deep-threat receivers in George Pickens and D.K. Metcalf, the latter of whom had his best pro season catching passes from Wilson in Seattle back in 2020.
The thing about re-signing Wilson over Rodgers is that Pittsburgh has essentially seen Wilson’s ceiling in their system, and it definitely wasn’t enough. They’re not sure what Rodgers’ ceiling might be in Steelers threads. Might as well go with the potential of improvement rather than returning to what they know was not enough in 2024.
In the end, it all depends on how Pittsburgh rates the 2025 and 2026 QB classes. Could they pull the trigger on Shedeur Sanders if his draft stock continues to fall? Might they go for a Day 2 QB like Jaxson Dart? Or perhaps a mid-round guy like Jalen Milroe or Will Howard? Or will they wait for Arch Manning, Drew Allar, and company in 2026?
Whatever they do, they’re unlikely to find a ready-made starter for 2025 through the Draft. At the very least, Rodgers could be a half-decent bridge to that 2026 class. Or, he could serve as a mentor for a guy the Steelers believe in from this 2025 class, such as Dart or Sanders. Either way, Rodgers to Pittsburgh feels more than likely at this point.
