The newfound head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mike McCarthy, recently announced that the franchise is “definitely preparing for both scenarios” when asked whether the future Hall of Famer, Aaron Rodgers, would be returning for a second season with the team. That was corroborated by the Steelers’ general manager, Omar Khan, who confirmed as much on Tuesday while speaking at the NFL Scouting Combine.
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The Steelers continue to be considered as one of the favorites to select Alabama’s Ty Simpson at the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft, but according to Khan, there needs to be a proper evaluation of their backup QB, Will Howard, before that conversation can continue.
“We mentioned Aaron [Rodgers], but we all agree that we’re looking for that next franchise guy… We’re not there yet, and we may have the guy on the roster, we don’t know, in Will, and we’re excited to work with Will. We all know that has to be addressed,” Khan said.
He added that the team will decide on the QB only after evaluating who could bring playoff success to Pittsburgh with McCarthy. Notably, the Steelers have now lost seven consecutive playoff games, the longest active postseason losing streak in the NFL. “We want to win the Super Bowl,” Khan added.
Suffice to say, it looks as if the Steelers are keeping their cards close to their vest on this one, which isn’t inherently surprising. Teams often play coy during this time of year, as almost no one can be certain of anything until the draft order has been finalized and it’s their turn on the clock.
Nevertheless, Khan insisted that “we like where we’re at” with regard to the number of ways in which they could replace Rodgers should he actually decide to call it a career. Of course, the real highlight for Pittsburgh fans will likely be his comments about the first few weeks of the McCarthy era.
“This morning, I was sitting there thinking, ‘It’s only been a month.’ It feels like it’s been so much longer with Mike McCarthy, because we’ve been grinding. I mean, it’s been nonstop since he came on board.”
For better or worse, however, Khan ultimately concluded his time with the press by suggesting that he and the rest of his cohorts are “always forecasting” in terms of the NFL Draft, and that, contrary to popular belief, there are in fact “some really good quarterbacks in this draft.”
That parting comment likely won’t do him any favors when it comes to curtailing the speculation around the aforementioned Simpson, but given the amount of experience that he has in dealing with both the press and the general manager position as a whole, it’s certainly worth wondering whether that was more of a casual comment or yet another hint about the future of the Steelers.
