Steelers QB Gamble
If the Steelers want to bite the bullet and sign Rodgers, then so be it.
If the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to set an NFL record with their 22nd-straight non-losing season in 2025, they might want to sign a better quarterback than Mason Rudolph. Any hope of a reunion with 2024 starter Russell Wilson closed Tuesday night when the NFL news broke that the veteran signed a 1-year deal worth up to $21 million with the New York Giants.
That could leave the Steelers in the unenviable position of signing Aaron Rodgers to a lofty deal for his 42-year-old season or just going with Rudolph and a rookie for 2025. The NFL rumors and reaction from current Steelers players like Cam Heyward haven’t been very receptive to bringing Rodgers into the fold either.
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Russell Wilson is finalizing a deal with the #Giants, as the Pro Bowler is the latest big QB domino, per The Insiders.
Rather than wait for Aaron Rodgers, NYG adds another veteran QB to go along with Jameis Winston. pic.twitter.com/uSnx1TyCty
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 25, 2025
Rodgers is also very limited on 2025 job openings where he can still start NFL games, so this might be an arranged marriage where neither party is exactly thrilled about the future, much like the ending to The Graduate.
The Graduate (1967)
The Steelers (2025) pic.twitter.com/UVEDxxTDBY
— Scott Kacsmar (@ScottKacsmar) March 26, 2025
What Is Pittsburgh Doing?
Regardless of which direction the Steelers go for 2025, what they’ve done in wiping out their entire quarterback room in consecutive seasons is absolutely historic. Here’s the timeline:
- 2023 season: Pittsburgh’s quarterbacks were Kenny Pickett (traded to Eagles on 3/16/2024), Mitchell Trubisky (released 2/12/2024 and signed in March by Bills), and Mason Rudolph (signed by Titans on 3/15/2024).
- 2024 season: Pittsburgh’s quarterbacks were Russell Wilson (signed by the Giants on 3/25/2025), Justin Fields (signed by the Jets on 3/13/2025), and Kyle Allen (signed by the Lions on 3/13/2025).
- 2025 season: The Steelers signed Skylar Thompson on 1/14/2025 and brought Mason Rudolph back on 3/13/2025.
This makes the 2024-25 Steelers the only team since the 1970 merger to replace 100% of their quarterback room in consecutive seasons. The only other team to do it before Week 1 was the 2018-19 Cardinals, who infamously traded first-round pick Josh Rosen one day after drafting Kyler Murray with the No. 1 pick.
The #Steelers have wiped out 100% of their QB room in consecutive years before the draft.
2023: Pickett/Trubisky/Rudolph
2024: Wilson/Fields/K.AllenThe only NFL team since 1970 to come close to doing the same thing is the 2017-19 Arizona Cardinals, who did it before Week 1…
— Scott Kacsmar (@ScottKacsmar) March 26, 2025
There have been just over 40 teams since the merger who went for a clean slate at quarterback, but only the Steelers have done it in back-to-back years and before the calendar turned to April.
Bringing back Rudolph, their 2023 playoff starter, could help with offensive familiarity, but it’s hard to take him seriously as a Week 1 starter. This also guarantees the Steelers will have a fifth different Week 1 starter at quarterback since 2021 with Ben Roethlisberger (2021), Mitch Trubisky (2022), Kenny Pickett (2023), and Justin Fields (2024).
But who will be that Week 1 starter in 2025?
Pittsburgh’s Best Plan of Action
If the Steelers want to bite the bullet and sign Rodgers, then so be it. Truthfully, Aaron Rodgers’ stats since 2022 aren’t any better than Wilson’s, and he’s less mobile than Wilson, who also would have been cheaper. But if they feel like they need something more valid at quarterback, like a 4-time MVP, then that’s about the only option they have left.
Regardless of Rodgers’ decision, the Steelers should utilize the 2025 NFL draft to add a quarterback. Just don’t make the mistake of taking Shedeur Sanders if he slips to No. 21, because that’s a telltale sign he’s a bust. Instead, make a move into the second round to take Alabama’s Jalen Milroe.
Then, for Christ’s sake, keep him on the roster for 2026.
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