While Pittsburgh Steelers fans dreamed of the likes of Justin Fields and Sam Darnold leading this team at quarterback in 2025, the team opted to offer uncompetitive contracts to both. Now, their quarterback room looks bleak.
I’m here to show you the light at the end of the tunnel.
The room as it stands still needs added to, and at least two new faces should find their way to the team before training camp starts. These new faces will likely come from some combination of the draft and remaining free agents.
Admittedly, those options don’t seem great. Aaron Rodgers is the lone starter quality free agent left, and his tape, age, and weird habits make him a lackluster option. The draft boasts two decent prospects in the first round and a lot of question marks after that.
So why is there a light at the end of the tunnel at quarterback for the Steelers? It certainly isn’t the opportunity to have Rodgers at the helm. Nor would it require a massive trade up to land one of the top quarterbacks. Instead, this team can build a competitive room and fling a lot of mud at the wall.
The Pittsburgh Steelers must be open to a quarterback competition
While Mason Rudolph is the current name in the lead to start, that is more by default than actual merit. Sure, he has flashed at times, but he seems more like a high end backup as opposed to a great starter.
Before the draft even starts, I would make sure to add another viable veteran quarterback. They need a specific type of quarterback, one that has failed to live up to expectations, but has developed into a fine backup.
Drew Lock should be the primary target. While he failed to live up to his second-round billing, he has stuck around as a backup. He has flashed at times, and we have seen numerous quarterbacks need some time and the right system to reach their potential.
You could make a similar argument for Desmond Ridder, but he hasn’t had success as even a backup quarterback yet. Lock isn’t a sure thing to suddenly revamp his career, but he would have the best odds of the available names. Trey Lance could also fit that role, but he hasn’t looked great in limited action either.
Looking at the draft, and assuming Shedeur Sanders doesn’t fall within striking distance, the Steelers will likely be drafting a quarterback in the third or fourth round. While I’m generally against a mid-round quarterback, I’ve warmed up to the idea this year.
We have seen weaker quarterback classes lead to draft day slides for players. Assuming the likes of Will Howard, Jalen Milroe, and even potentially Jaxson Dart fall into the end of day two and beginning of day three, I’m all for using a pick on them.
More than likely, it won’t work out long-term, but you never know when the next Dak Prescott or Kirk Cousins is going to be in the draft. More importantly, you get a young player in the building with multiple years on their contract to work with.
Entering camp, you allow everyone to compete for the starting role. This can’t be the pseudo competition like last year or from Kenny Pickett’s rookie season. You have to give everyone a shot to earn the starting job.
Rudolph would have the early edge and would be my favorite to win the role. We could see one of the veteran options turn their career around, though. Heck, maybe the rookie proves that they can be the starter for this team.
Ultimately, the most likely option is that none of these players do enough to earn the starting role in 2026. At that point, you can carry the rookie contract and potentially even Rudolph another season while using your surplus of resources to draft your next franchise quarterback a year from now.
How can the Steelers screw this plan up? Rodger sticks out as the obvious answer. I can’t imagine he leads this team to a Super Bowl, and instead, he likely keeps the status quo around. This makes it harder to move up for a top option in next year's draft.
The other way they can mess this us is by feeling forced to take a quarterback in the first round. Now you are linked to this player for the next few years, and reaching for quarterbacks in round one has rarely paid off.
Things look far less appealing than many Steelers fans had hoped for at quarterback, but the team can realistically build out a room that works. It gives your veterans and a rookie the chance to prove their worth, and the worst-case scenario is that you struggle and land that guy in 2026. Sign me up for that given what the alternatives are.