The Pittsburgh Steelers could face quite the dilemma if Aaron Rodgers does not commit to them by the end of this weekend.
Rodgers is mulling his options. He has interest from the Steelers, New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings. At 41 years old, he could also opt for retirement — vanishing into a forest filled with ayahuasca — or decide to host Jeopardy!
According to some, the Steelers looked their best offensively with Justin Fields at the controls. When free agency opened, Fields agreed to a two-year contract worth $40 million with the New York Jets. Thirty million of that deal is fully guaranteed, and it certainly seems like Fields is the new starter in the Big Apple.
Russell Wilson, who took over for Fields in Pittsburgh, kept the car on the road for Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin to have another winning season and a playoff berth. It was not always pretty, but the Steelers found a way.
Wilson visited the Cleveland Browns on Thursday and the Giants on Friday, according to several reports. However, it sounds like he left both cities without an offer and will continue to explore options — likely including Pittsburgh.
But things get awkward in Pittsburgh if Wilson chooses to go to the Giants or Browns. It surely seems like the Steelers have all their eggs in the Rodgers basket. Rodgers is a basket case, yes, but not sure putting all of your confidence in him is the right move. He’s always capable of a big surprise.
That would leave the Steelers with Mason Rudolph as their lone quarterback. Yes, the same Rudolph who was cracked in the head with his own helmet. He signed a two-year deal worth $8 million earlier this week.
The Steelers selected Rudolph in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft, but let’s not pretend we don’t know who he is. He has a 9-8-1 quarterback record, and his stats are those of a serviceable backup quarterback. They don’t want him starting 17 games.
Pittsburgh owns the No. 21 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. There’s no secret this is a weak quarterback class. Despite that, Miami’s Cam Ward is expected to be the No. 1 player selected — by the Tennessee Titans, ironically, the same team that just dumped Rudolph.
Shedeur Sanders is a polarizing option and feels like much more of an unknown in terms of where he will be selected, but Yinzers shouldn’t expect him to make it past the 20th overall selection. Remember how early Michael Penix Jr. and Bo Nix were selected last season? Desperate teams do desperate things, and someone will take Sanders before the Steelers. It’ll probably even be AFC North rival Cleveland, which has the No. 2 overall pick.
That leaves the Steelers with … Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart? Alabama’s Jalen Milroe? The remaining quarterbacks are thought of as projects and far from Day 1 starters at the professional level.
But this is a Steelers team ready to win now. They need to hope Rodgers picks them. They just traded a second-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks for DK Metcalf, signaling they want to make life easy on whoever plays quarterback next season. They were 10-7 last year. They made the playoffs.
Everything about Pittsburgh says this is a team ready to compete in a loaded AFC — except at quarterback. And that’s an issue when Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow are in your division, and when Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen always loom in the shadows.
