The Pittsburgh Steelers' offseason has already gotten off to a start that doesn’t particularly sit well with many in the fanbase. Fans were eager for change, but the change in the structure of how the franchise hires a head coach wasn’t something they expected.
Nonetheless, Mike McCarthy is the head coach, and fans will have to see how his tenure unfolds in the coming years. Of course, fans are just hoping for a strong start, as the franchise continues to make an effort to stay relevant in the postseason discussion despite calls from around the league, and in the fanbase itself, to embrace a rebuilding effort.
Steelers fans know the team won’t willingly do that, losing now in the hope of winning later. It’s a noble effort, to some degree, but it’s pushing the franchise to make decisions that could turn 2026 into the worst possible scenario.
Running it back with Aaron Rodgers could leave Pittsburgh Steelers stuck in familiar territory
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox recently suggested the worst-case scenario each NFL team could face this offseason. For the Steelers, the team is already trending toward that scenario, as the team appears to be positioning itself to run it back with Aaron Rodgers under center in 2026.
“Running it back with Rodgers and the current roster would probably leave the Steelers right back to where they are in 2027—coming off an early playoff exit and with no shot at a top quarterback draft prospect,” Knox wrote on Thursday.
The caveat to the scenario, of course, is bringing back Rodgers and not making roster improvements around him. Obviously, there will be new faces in the building on offense, whether through free agency, the draft, or via trade. After all, it’s not as though the Steelers are unaware of their shortcomings offensively, especially with McCarthy in place as head coach.
Rodgers was mostly serviceable in his first season with Pittsburgh, though his Hall of Fame-caliber brilliance shone through on a handful of occasions, too. Still, for him to take the Steelers as deep into the postseason as he’d like, he needs better protection and better weapons. As for the franchise, they need a long-term plan to avoid sitting in this same situation next year.
Even if Rodgers should play again in 2026, it’s not like Pittsburgh can keep holding out hope that he’ll come back for one more year again and again. Whether it means investing further in Will Howard’s development or adding to the room, it’s up to McCarthy and general manager Omar Khan to solve the position's future this offseason.
It’s a tall task to do all of those things in one offseason– get better weapons, stiffen up the protection up front, and find the long-term answer at quarterback, all while making sure an aging defense doesn’t take another step back. The players available in free agency and the draft this offseason don’t make that effort any easier.
The frustrating aspect of the entire scenario is that Steelers fans are already well aware of the team’s floor with Rodgers under center. As Knox said, the Steelers would likely be a playoff-level team, but far from a contender, and that makes solving any of these issues post-Rodgers even more difficult. It’s the same purgatorial state Steelers fans have grown uncomfortably accustomed to over the past decade.