Once again, this time in the 2025 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers put a Band-Aid on the quarterback room, getting a modestly productive season from veteran Aaron Rodgers. All in all, Rodgers played well given the circumstances, and the Steelers did again make the playoffs.
But as all of Steelers Country knows, this simply cannot continue. For years now, Pittsburgh has been built to finish 9-8 or 10-7 and lose in the Wild Card Round. With former head coach Mike Tomlin no longer in the picture, the hope here is that new head coach Mike McCarthy can actually raise the bar a bit and elevate the standard.
However, you might not think that could happen with Rodgers in the picture, but when you think about it, Rodgers returning for another season would actually help this team out quite a bit in the long-term.
Aaron Rodgers playing another year allows Pittsburgh Steelers more time to fix the long-term QB outlook
Whether the franchise actually takes the quarterback situation seriously is up for discussion, but Rodgers returning in 2026 does allow the team to begin to put a plan in action. Ideally, and this is something teams have done, is that the Steelers find a developmental quarterback at some point in the 2026 NFL Draft and have him 'sit and learn' as some put it, behind the starter.
In theory, this runway would allow a hypothetical rookie quarterback to soak up as much information as possible, perhaps elevating their chances of becoming a starting quarterback. Now, yes, this is much easier said than done, but it's at least a plan, and the Steelers just have not had much of a plan over the years.
If Rodgers were to retire, the Steelers would be more likely to force a quarterback move in free agency and perhaps overpay for someone. In Rodgers' specific situation, there is at least a high floor present. In 2025, Rodgers tossed 24 touchdowns against seven interceptions for a modest 94.8 passer rating.
There's reason to believe he could do that again in 2026. The current Steelers franchise clearly has no desire to rebuild properly, and that has clearly come back to bite the team in recent years, but they could, in a way, skirt around a rebuild by hitting on a quarterback.
The odds of a day two or day three quarterback developing into a franchise passer are low, but it's not zero. Heck, even Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson could be an option for the Steelers in Round 1. But all in all, having Rodgers on the team gives the Steelers a longer runway to figure this position out.
And until the franchise does figure this out, they'll continue to circle the drain of 'good not great.'