Terrifying Reality For Steelers Fans Developing As Band-Aid Quarterback Solution Could Now Continue In 2026

The Pittsburgh Steelers' 2025 season has been all over the place. The team has been inconsistent at times, Aaron Rodgers fractured his wrist in three different places, and now star edge rusher TJ Watt is recovering after needing surgery due to a partially collapsed lung. There have not been many quiet weeks in the Steel City; however, the organization is sitting at 7-6 with a clear path to the postseason. Nothing changes the fact that the need for a long-term solution at quarterback has yet to be discovered. This is something that should be the main focus for General Manager Omar Khan come the 2026 offseason.

Rodgers is expected to retire after the year, but it's hard to predict exactly what the 42-year-old will decide to do. If he does hang up his cleats, the Steelers may not be in a position to select a top-end quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft. Internal options at that point would be Mason Rudolph and Will Howard, with an external party coming into the picture to also compete for the job.

If a rookie is not selected by the franchise, then another band-aid type of situation may be on the horizon. This has been the case pretty much every single season since Ben Roethlisberger retired after the 2021 campaign. Now, after a phenomenal performance on Thursday Night Football in Week 15, ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio is suggesting that Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins may once again be in line for a starting job come 2026.

"It’s widely believed he’ll be released," Florio wrote. "With the guaranteed payment subject to offset, Cousins will likely make more than $10 million on the open market. Especially after Thursday night, during which he showed he still can perform at a high level. That would allow the Falcons to avoid the extra $10 million they’re already required to pay him on the fifth day of the 2026 league year."

Steelers fans will likely roll their eyes at the possibility of Cousins playing football in the Steel City come 2026. It would be delaying the inevitable, which has become a norm in Pittsburgh. Florio didn't just speculate that the veteran could get paid, but he named the Steelers as a team that could certainly be interested in the signal-caller's services.

"Teams that will (or at least could) be looking for a potential QB1 include the Jets, Steelers, Browns, Bengals (if Joe Burrow’s recent comments portend an exit from Cincinnati), Colts, Raiders, Saints, and Cardinals."

The 2026 quarterback draft class isn't shaping up to be stellar, and if Rodgers decides to retire from professional football, Khan and co. may be backed into a corner once again. Florio suggests that roughly a quarter of the league could have calls into Cousins' camp come March, so it's not a full-blown guarantee that he would land in Pittsburgh, but he might find the possibility of playing for Head Coach Mike Tomlin to be intriguing.

Khan will have over 10 draft selections at his disposal, which could lead to an aggressive trade-up in the first round for the right prospect. It would be a tad uncharacteristic for the franchise to move from the 20s to Top 10, but crazier things have happened. The Steelers need to officially find the future of the organization, and another band-aid in Cousins would only delay that longer.

Steelers Cannot Continue To Fall Behind In The AFC

Somehow, Pittsburgh continues to finish at the mid-tier point of the conference. Postseason appearances haven't gone well for some time, but seasons never wrap up poorly enough to have excellent draft positioning. This is what has led to a rather creative approach at the quarterback position, specifically after the Kenny Pickett debacle. This won't work forever, and signing Cousins would just be another slap into the face to the fan base.

Do you think that the Steelers should pursue Cousins if he is released by the Falcons? Let us know in he comments below!

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