The Pittsburgh Steelers missed out on another potential quarterback. On Thursday, one day after officially being released by the Arizona Cardinals, veteran QB Kyler Murray agreed to a one-year contract with the Minnesota Vikings. Because the Cardinals are already paying his 2026 salary, this is a veteran minimum deal that will cost the Vikings just $1.3 million this season.
And just like that, the Steelers are down to one viable option.
Since the beginning of the offseason, general manager Omar Khan has made it clear that the ball is in Aaron Rodgers' court. Nothing has changed since then. Though fans were optimistic that the team could pursue Murray—for the sheer fact that to inspire some level of change at the helm in 2026—it wasn't surprising to see him ink a deal with Minnesota.
Murray's decision comes just days after Daniel Jones re-signed with the Indianapolis Colts and Malik Willis landed with the Miami Dolphins in free agency.
Now the Steelers are, once again, left waiting on Rodgers.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are poised to run it back with Aaron Rodgers at QB in 2026
While we don't know what conversations have gone on behind closed doors, the Pittsburgh Steelers' lack of aggressiveness in a free-agent quarterback pursuit leads us to believe that Rodgers is and always has been the goal.
This is something that's hard for much of the fanbase to explain.
Though Rodgers put up respectable numbers on paper last season (3,322 yards, 274 touchdowns, and seven interceptions), advanced statistics exposed a harsh reality—that Rodgers wasn't very good.
Among quarterbacks with at least 100 snaps, the 42-year-old quarterback finished 23rd in EPA, 35th in success rate, 42nd in average depth of target, 43rd in longest time to throw, 41st in intended air yards, 42nd in completed air yards, 29th in bad throw percentage, 27th in on-target throw percentage, and 23rd in QBR (44.3). Hardly the numbers of a competitive signal-caller.
Though Mike McCarthy's offense could prove to be a sizable step up from what we saw last year with offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, Rodgers will be another year older. Last season, he got rid of the ball faster than any quarterback in the league and shied away from standing tough in the pocket and taking hits.
It's hard to expect things to get better if Rodgers is running the offense in 2026.
Regardless, that appears to be the direction we're heading. Some rumors suggest that Rodgers is 'Plan A' for the Steelers and, if the long-time vet spurns them, they could pivot to 'Plan B'—going all-in around 2025 sixth-round pick Will Howard for the upcoming season.
Quite frankly, most Steelers fans would prefer 'Plan B' at this point. There's no telling what Kyler Murray would have been able to do for Pittsburgh in 2026 had he signed with the team, but fans are already fearing the painfully obvious Aaron Rodgers plan with no viable QB options remaining in free agency.