The Pittsburgh Steelers have been one of the most interesting teams in the NFL to pay attention to throughout the 2025 offseason. The organization has made plenty of moves on the offensive side of the ball, particularly at wide receiver, but still does not have its starting quarterback locked in for the 2025 campaign. As of now, Mason Rudolph would be the starting quarterback with Will Howard backing him up, but the franchise expects Aaron Rodgers to join the Steelers in Pittsburgh at some point in the near future.
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Aaron Rodgers warms up before the New York Jets' preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Rodgers has been connected to Pittsburgh for nearly the entire 2025 offseason, and the two sides have been interested in one another since free agency began back in March. He is taking his time making his decision, as he continues to consider the possibility of retirement. The quarterback doesn't seem to have any other reasonable landing spots outside of Pittsburgh, which makes him wearing the black and gold in 2025 very likely.
ESPN insider Dan Graziano spoke about the quarterback search in Pittsburgh during an appearance on ESPN's Unsportsmanlike on Monday, and he shared that the organization was not really in love with any of its previous options.
"I don't get that sense," Graziano said. "I think if you got the Steelers and you gave them truth serum, what they would tell you is we didn't really like any of the options that were available at quarterback this offseason, including Aaron Rodgers. So we're just kind of going with what we ended up being left with. Like, they didn't feel like spending more on Justin Fields than the Jets did. They didn't feel like bringing Russell Wilson back. They didn't feel, for whatever reason, like playing on Sam Darnold in free agency or drafting a quarterback in the first five rounds."
Graziano does not believe Pittsburgh was in love with any quarterback option during the 2025 offseason, including Rodgers. However, the way the organization has continued to wait out for the four-time league MVP says otherwise. The franchise wouldn't allow the quarterback to completely dictate its offseason if it did not want to see Rodgers become the starting quarterback in Pittsburgh.
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Former Steelers quarterbacks Russell Wilson (left) and Justin Fields (right) on the field warming up before a work out during offseason activities at the UPMC Sports Complex in Pittsburgh, PA.
After the 2024 season came to a close, it was thought that Pittsburgh would want to bring back either Russell Wilson or Justin Fields to be the starting quarterback. That didn't end up happening, as Pittsburgh wasn't very interested in Wilson and he eventually signed with the New York Giants. Fields got a very lucrative deal with the New York Jets, and Pittsburgh was not willing to go as high as New York was on the deal.
The Steelers were also reported to offer a contract to Sam Darnold, but it might have been a lowball offer as he signed with the Seattle Seahawks pretty quickly. Pittsburgh needs a franchise quarterback, but the organization wasn't going to make any bad decisions to land one in 2025.
Steelers Will Be Turning Their Attention To The 2026 NFL Draft
It is nearly impossible to win anything meaningful in the NFL without a franchise quarterback, and the Steelers understand that they need to land one in the near future. The 2026 NFL Draft might be the time to do so, as the event will be hosted in Pittsburgh, and the Steelers should be going into the event with at least 12 selections. Graziano spoke about Pittsburgh's future plans for a quarterback.
"So, I think around the time of the draft, I got the sense the Steelers were looking at like the next two drafts, the one that just happened, and the one next year, as possibly, a better option for addressing their long-term quarterback situation," Graziano said.
A lot can change over the next year until the 2026 NFL Draft. Quarterbacks who are thought to be sure-fire first-rounders might end up going undrafted, or they could accept a large NIL offer to return to school.
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Texas QB Arch Manning.
Nothing is guaranteed, but at least the Steelers have their eyes set on the future at the quarterback position.
What do you think about Graziano's analysis of Pittsburgh's quarterback search? Comment below!
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