Steelers Likely Ruled Out Of The Running For Promising Quarterback

The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the many quarterback-needy teams in the NFL during the 2026 offseason. Unfortunately for the franchise and General Manager Omar Khan, the quarterback market is not very deep this year, and that includes the 2026 NFL Draft and free agency. The most promising avenue of acquiring a quarterback during the 2026 offseason might be via trade, as names like Kyler Murray, Tua Tagovailoa, Anthony Richardson, and Geno Smith could be on the move. The Steelers should be expected to poke around in those areas, but it is still unclear which way the team prefers to go at quarterback. Aaron Rodgers could return, but he is still deciding on retirement.

Pittsburgh is going to evaluate every option when it comes to the quarterback position, including in-house players like Mason Rudolph and Will Howard. Malik Willis is a name to watch in free agency, while Mac Jones is another player to keep an eye on within the trade market. He would probably draw an expensive price, but that could be worth it after seeing what he did with the San Francisco 49ers in 2025. It would have to be a great offer for the 49ers to move on from Jones, which is something that Head Coach Kyle Shanahan alluded to during his end-of-year press conference. This was recently brought up by beat writer Matt Barrows of The Athletic. 

"You always listen to people with trade offers," Shanahan said. "We’re also not into getting rid of good players, so I’d be very surprised if Mac wasn’t around us next year."

The head coach seems to be pretty stern on his stance on Jones. He wants to keep him on the roster as the backup quarterback, but Jones is only under contract for one more year. If he makes it through the season with the 49ers, the franchise risks letting him walk away for nothing when the organization could obtain significant draft capital for his services.

Great quarterbacks are hard to come by in the NFL, and Jones went 5-3 as a starter during the 2025 season while playing on a fairly beat up team. He filled in for Brock Purdy nicely, and he recorded the best completion percentage of his career. The poor quarterback market and Jones' recent resurgence should make him a hot commodity on the trade market, and a team that needs a quarterback will likely make San Francisco an offer they cannot refuse. Barrows spoke about what teams may be interested, but there was no mention of Pittsburgh.

"More teams are running Shanahan’s offense or something similar than ever before," Barrows wrote. "The Miami Dolphins hired a former Shanahan assistant, Bobby Slowik, to run their offense. The Arizona Cardinals brought in another, Mike LaFleur, as head coach. Both teams are considering new quarterbacks this offseason. The Vikings could also be interested after parting ways with [Sam] Darnold and watching youngster JJ McCarthy throw 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 10 games in 2025."

Pittsburgh will be running a West Coast offense in 2026, and that is somewhat close to what Shanahan runs in San Francisco. The Steelers should be involved in potential trade talks surrounding Jones, but Barrows only mentioned the Miami Dolphins, Arizona Cardinals, and Minnesota Vikings.

Steelers Should Do Everything To Land Next Sam Darnold

After the Seattle Seahawks won Super Bowl LX behind the leadership of Sam Darnold, the idea of a quarterback resurgence is pretty attractive. Darnold spent the 2023 season backing up Purdy in San Francisco, and he then went to Minnesota where he played like one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Jones could be another version of that, and the Steelers should do everything in their power to land him.

Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, the 49ers don't seem to want to trade him. The other issue is that every other team that may be involved is going to have better value on their draft picks due to their record in 2025.

Would you want Jones in Pittsburgh? Follow us for more news!

#SteelerNation