Paul Zeise: The future at quarterback, not Aaron Rodgers, should be the Steelers' focus

Paul Zeise, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Feb 24, 2026

Published in Football

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PITTSBURGH — Aaron Rodgers is making the Pittsburgh Steelers wait again, and I can see it is already triggering some fans and media types who just want him to make a decision.

That thinking is not only short-sighted, it is once again giving Rodgers all of the power, and there is no need for that.

The Steelers should be focused on the future of their quarterback position, and that means taking a run at someone like Malik Willis (though I am not a fan of that specific quarterback) and that is to say, someone young who has some experience and upside.

In all honesty, the list of those kinds of quarterbacks who are available is basically nonexistent. There just aren’t any of those kinds of medium-to-long-term answers that are out there right now. Willis is basically the entire list and I am not sure that he is truly an answer to the Steelers’ problems.

All that really means is there are plenty of stopgap options out there, like Rodgers, and so there is no reason the Steelers need to spend a whole lot of time worrying about what he is going to do.

If he decides to come back, great, and if he doesn’t, then the Steelers have plenty of options to pull off the scrap heap for one season. They don’t need Rodgers unless they believe they have a chance to be a Super Bowl contender with him, but he would make them better, so they should welcome him back if he wants to come.

The key this offseason is the rest of the roster, as the roster around the quarterback needs to get rebuilt. I know the Steelers just made the playoffs, but there is a long way between them and contending, if we are going to be perfectly honest.

Everyone is so focused on the quarterback spot, and by extension Rodgers, that they are missing the fact that the team is at least one, if not two, offensive linemen short, needs at least two receivers, is still at least one defensive lineman short, needs at least one more cornerback, and probably an inside linebacker as well.

And all of that is assuming that its aging stars, like Cam Heyward, TJ Watt and Jalen Ramsey, have another run in them at a high enough level to justify their paychecks. Watt is coming off a down year and Ramsey had to move from corner to safety to remain a functional player.

Six of the Steelers’ top eight contracts are players who are 29 years old or older, so that is also a part of the concern about next year and beyond.

Their highest-paid offensive player, DK Metcalf, came nowhere close to living up to his contract last season, so that has to be at least a bit of a concern.

One would have to believe that moving from Mike Tomlin to Mike McCarthy will be good for the Steelers’ offense and the development of players on that side of the ball. It would only stand to reason that Metcalf will get better, and whoever they bring in as receivers will benefit from McCarthy’s system as well.

That is only true if the offensive line is solidified. There seem to be plenty of questions on the left side, as guard Isaac Seumalo is a free agent and tackle Broderick Jones is coming off a major injury.

Jones also has a lot to prove, as there are some signs he has a chance to be a good one, but not nearly enough for the Steelers to enter the season without a contingency plan. That means they have to spend salary cap money or a high draft choice on a tackle in order to solidify the most important position on the line.

All of that brings me back to Rodgers and the quarterback position.

Rodgers would obviously fill a need in the short term, but that’s it, and so any plans the Steelers have at that position can not go forward while he is in the wilderness thinking about his decision to play or not.

McCarthy has said he likes what he sees from Will Howard, and so he will try to develop him, and Mason Rudolph is a reliable backup who can give the Steelers a shot to win a few games in a pinch.

That is a good start to the quarterback room. The next question facing the Steelers is figuring out if there are any who are good enough in the draft.

There are some serious questions about whether there are even one or two legitimate bona fide NFL starting quarterbacks in this draft, and the Steelers won’t be in position to pick a top one. That means they will have to take a flier on some players later in the draft who may have some potential but also have some flaws or limitations.

The thing is, they already have one of those in Howard, so I am not sure that is the direction they want to go, either. And even if they did decide to go that route, they could still draft a quarterback and sign Rodgers. So again, they don’t need to wait for him to figure out that position.

Ultimately, if Rodgers doesn’t come back, the Steelers will simply sign some other veteran, and the likely results wouldn’t be terribly different. Rodgers shouldn’t be the Steelers’ focus at this point, as his decision doesn’t dramatically change what they need to do this offseason to improve.

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