After the draft, quarterback is still a major question mark for the Pittsburgh Steelers. While they added Will Howard in the sixth round, he likely isn’t expected to start this year. Mason Rudolph is currently penciled in as the Steelers’ starter. However, Aaron Rodgers is still a free agent. He could eventually decide to sign with the Steelers. Even if that does happen, the Steelers still won’t have a long-term solution under center. Former NFL defensive lineman Marcus Spears isn’t sure what the Steelers’ plan is.
“How are you positioning, as the Pittsburgh Steelers, to get a quarterback?” Spears said Monday on ESPN’s NFL Live. “Beyond Aaron Rodgers, beyond Mason Rudolph, how are you positioning? The waffling has happened because you’ve had good enough play to always be picking 20th, or a lower tier, and you can’t get these guys. Make no moves to get up in the draft.
“I thought Shedeur Sanders would be the pick because of a young quarterback, and maybe you hang your hat on him progressing and becoming a franchise guy. Then, that was gone. You look at the Pittsburgh Steelers and how they’ve been waffling, and I, for the life of me, can’t understand what the quarterback situation future looks like.”
Like Spears, many people thought the Steelers would select Sanders in the first round. Instead, it was apparent that the NFL as a whole had a lower opinion of Sanders, seeing as he fell to the fifth round.
Still, the Steelers opted not to spend premium draft capital on a quarterback. Howard is a nice lottery ticket, but very few sixth-round quarterbacks become franchise players. The Steelers currently don’t really have a future at quarterback. They seem more focused on the present.
That makes sense considering that Mike Tomlin seems intent on forcing the Steelers’ Super Bowl window open. It didn’t seem like any quarterbacks available in the draft this year could instantly help a team win. The Steelers might’ve been right not to force themselves to target that position early in the draft. That might’ve done more harm than good.
However, Pittsburgh’s plan under center might not be as bleak as Spears believes it to be. While the 2025 quarterback class wasn’t great, the 2026 group seems much stronger. A lot can happen between now and then, but at the moment, it looks like the Steelers will have a better shot at drafting a franchise quarterback next year.
Also, the Steelers should have more draft capital next year. They’re scheduled to receive a few compensatory picks. That could help them trade up in the first round to select a quarterback they’re interested in. While the Steelers might not currently have a long-term solution at quarterback on their roster, that could change next year. As long as they have this problem, the draft will represent a possible solution.
