The Pittsburgh Steelers are likely going to be in the market for a quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft, even if they sign free agent QB Aaron Rodgers. Former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger said on the latest episode of his Footbahlin podcast how he would like the team to address the position in the upcoming draft.
“I would love to see them get a guy in the third round and develop him. I think there’s a chance, you can still get a guy next year and let him work, see what happens,” said Roethlisberger, the Steelers’ first-round pick in 2004. “But there’s some winners in college football at the quarterback position. But you’ve gotta get someone in here that can work with Arthur Smith for more than one year. Two, three years, you gotta develop that rapport, that understanding of each other.”
Smith joined the Steelers last offseason when they turned over their quarterback room. This offseason they did the same thing, with Russell Wilson, Justin Fields and Kyle Allen all signing elsewhere. Smith is going to have to adapt to a whole new quarterback room for the second year in a row, and if the team signs the 41-year-old Rodgers, it’s likely going to be a one-year deal. Adding a rookie would provide a building block for the future and at least give the Steelers an option for a long-term answer at the position.
Having built-in rapport with Smith down the line is also going to be an advantage for both the player and the coordinator, and it would give the Steelers some semblance of the quarterback stability they’ve lacked since Roethlisberger’s retirement. While it’s rare that a mid-round quarterback develops into a starter, if the Steelers feel they can find someone they can continue to develop, it would be a good strategy to start building out their future quarterback room while also giving them a potential option for 2025.
The Steelers have done their due diligence on quarterbacks in the draft. They’ve hosted Tyler Shough and Jaxson Dart for pre-draft visits and the team will reportedly bring in Shedeur Sanders tomorrow. The demonstrated interest in the quarterback class coupled with their need makes it likely they’ll draft one at some point, and it could very well be as early as the third round. That would be the team’s second selection after dealing its second-round pick for DK Metcalf.
