With most of the best free agents signed, the Pittsburgh Steelers still have a glaring need at quarterback. They’re waiting on Aaron Rodgers to make a decision, but it’s unclear when that’s going to happen. If Rodgers spurns the Steelers that would leave them in quite a bind. At the moment, none of their options under center look appealing. Chris Simms thinks the Steelers have no one to blame but themselves for that.
“I know there’s a faction out there, ‘Hey, pick a team,’ if you’re a Steelers fan,” Simms said Thursday on Pro Football Focus. “Like we said yesterday, the Steelers, I don’t know what they were thinking with this quarterback situation here. It doesn’t seem to be well planned out. It’s nobody’s fault but their own that they don’t have a QB yet.”
The Steelers have indeed painted themselves into this corner. Going into this offseason, they knew they weren’t going to have a quarterback under contract. Justin Fields and Russell Wilson were both scheduled to be free agents. It wasn’t like this situation snuck up on them.
To their credit, they reportedly made an attempt to re-sign Fields before free agency began. It just wasn’t good enough. There were likely a number of factors that caused Fields to leave. However, since he signed with the New York Jets, the Steelers have felt more directionless.
Rodgers is the Steelers’ fallback option, but that might not have been a wise decision. Although they’ve reportedly made him an offer, he has been in no rush to choose his next team. Rodgers could even retire, and yet, the Steelers haven’t seemed to put any precautions in place if that happens.
Yes, they signed Mason Rudolph, but he’s not a quality starter. He should be their backup. It’s tough to envision the Steelers winning a playoff game with Rudolph under center. They couldn’t do it a few years ago.
Unfortunately, the Steelers’ options outside of Rodgers aren’t great, either. They could re-sign Wilson, but it seems like there are several hurdles in the way of that happening. Joe Flacco, Jameis Winston, and Carson Wentz are other names on the market. None of them would likely inspire much hope in the fan base.
The truth is that the Steelers’ quarterback play probably won’t be pretty in 2025. Maybe they’ll land Rodgers, but he isn’t the same player he once was. They have no long-term answer under center. Until they fix that, they might find themselves in this position again.
