The Steelers knew they’d run the risk of resetting their QB room once again this offseason. While they did bring back a familiar face in Mason Rudolph, both of their starters from 2024 left. They know they’ve still got work to do. Right now, there are two popular names that have been brought up as potential options for Pittsburgh in Aaron Rodgers and Shedeur Sanders.
While it’s not especially likely, there’s a possibility Pittsburgh comes out of the offseason with both on its roster. FOX Sports’ Nick Wright would not be a fan of that idea, to say the least.
“I think that would be ridiculous,” Wright said Wednesday on First Things First. “I think it’s hard enough to make Aaron Rodgers work by himself, much less a wildly popular, super famous, very confident, charismatic first-round pick [Shedeur Sanders] that the fans will be very excited about. That doesn’t sound like a recipe for success.”
Rodgers is a player they’ve been tied to throughout the offseason. The Steelers initially made an offer to Justin Fields, but he signed with the Jets. Russell Wilson signed with the Giants, and the Steelers never showed interest in him. While they don’t seem to be far from a deal with Rodgers, that interest has gotten them nowhere.
With the 21st overall selection, not many people thought the Steelers would have a chance at finding their franchise QB in the draft. Sanders could definitely still go in the top five. However, some analysts are giving him a higher chance of sliding down the board than they were a few weeks ago. Take that and Sanders visiting the Steelers on Thursday, and you can see why rumors might start to float.
That doesn’t mean the Steelers will have a great chance at landing Sanders. There are a lot of teams at the top of the draft that could use him going forward. Even if he slides, the Steelers might have to trade up to stop another team from jumping them. If he does end up being on the board at the 21st selection, though, Wright doesn’t think Pittsburgh should pass him up.
“If I’m the Steelers, and Shedeur is there at 21, I’m drafting Shedeur,” Wright said. “And what that means about my plans with Aaron Rodgers, to me, are almost irrelevant.”
There are plenty of reasons to be excited about that potential pairing. If Rodgers and Sanders are both on the roster going into the season, it feels pretty clear that Rodgers will be the starter. The Steelers would have their potential QB of the future learning from one of the best QBs the game has ever seen. And Mike Tomlin long ago earned the benefit of the doubt in terms of controlling his locker room.
There certainly is the potential for things to be messy in 2025. However, a Rodgers/Sanders QB room is a good problem to have considering what the Steelers have dealt with at the position in recent years.
