After passing on a number of quarterbacks in the 2025 NFL Draft, including Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders multiple times, many are questioning the Pittsburgh Steelers and their overall plan at the position moving forward.
The Steelers ultimately drafted Ohio State’s Will Howard in the sixth round, but many don’t view him as a long-term starter. The Steelers are also still waiting on a decision from 41-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers, though things seem much more positive there than before.
But passing on big-name QBs in the draft multiple times and adding elsewhere like defensive line, running back and even outside linebacker has many puzzled and questioning what the Steelers’ plan is.
One anonymous executive told The Athletic’s Mike Sando — in an unfiltered execs piece on the 2025 NFL Draft for The Athletic — that the Steelers are “meandering in the wilderness” at quarterback, biding their time until they find someone they like.
“They are meandering in the wilderness here, and they are going to continue to do that until there is somebody they like, and then they will draft him,” the exec said of the Steelers to Sando, according to The Athletic. “They are doing what they do, and it has proven to work out pretty darn well for them on the whole.
“Could this year be rough? Would that be a bad thing? Probably not.”
Meandering in the wilderness is a good way to put it for the Steelers over the last few years at quarterback.
Initially, the Steelers believed that Kenny Pickett was going to be their long-term answer at quarterback after drafting him No. 20 overall in the 2022 NFL Draft. But after two years, Pickett wasn’t working out, the Steelers brought in Russell Wilson on a cheap, one-year deal, and then Pickett requested a trade, landing with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Now, Pickett is with the Cleveland Browns and is going to have his fifth-year option declined.
Wilson didn’t exactly work out with the Steelers, either. There were some great moments, but in the end he and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith clashed, the Steelers lost five straight games down the stretch while failing to score more than 17 points in a game, and it was time to move on there.
Justin Fields was likely going to be the answer for the Steelers for 2025, but he and Pittsburgh were unable to come to an agreement on a deal, and Fields signed with the New York Jets. So, the attention has shifted to Rodgers for the 2025 season.
Is it ideal? No, having a 41-year-old quarterback with significantly declining mobility behind a young offensive line still trying to find its way is not the best answer, but options are the Steelers’ options are limited.
So, they are certainly meandering in the wilderness, biding their time and waiting until there is a quarterback available they like. That somebody could be in the 2026 NFL Draft class, which many are projecting to be quite good at the quarterback position.
We’ll see if that winds up being the case at the end of the 2025 college football season. If it is, the Steelers should have some significant ammo with draft picks and compensatory picks to get aggressive and move up to land their potential quarterback of the future.
