How do you win in the NFL? There’s a multitude of answers to that question, but most know one thing trumps the rest – Quarterback. It’s the most important position in all of professional sports, and the Steelers have failed in filling the void there over the last three years. Rather than dwell on the past, let’s take a look at the list of options the Steelers have going into the offseason that could potentially be leading the black and gold in 2025, and weigh the pros and cons of each of them.

Aaron Rodgers (Free Agent)

Growing up I was a huge Aaron Rodgers fan. I always thought he was better than Brady, and for whatever reason never really held anything against him for beating us in the Super Bowl. That said, this version of Aaron Rodgers is far from his former MVP level. In his last two full seasons in 2022 and 2024, Rodgers EPA (Expected Points Added) per attempt has been 0.07 and 0.08, far from 2020 and 2021 where he posted EPA per attempt ratings of 0.30 and 0.23, both MVP seasons. Now I’m more of a traditionalist when it comes to football and don’t think stats tell the full story, but that drop off is significant because you saw it on the field. There were so many uncharacteristic misses from Rodgers in 2024 to open receivers, specifically Garrett Wilson, and it makes you wonder how much the achilles is impacting his play. The EPA dipped in 2022 though before the injury, so it is possible he just doesn’t have it anymore.

When it comes to playing for the Steelers, I have mixed thoughts. The veteran bridge option with Russ just failed, and it’s not particularly something I think most fans would want to see again, especially with how similar the roster construction is to the Jets (defensive led, poor running game, average offensive line play). If Rodgers couldn’t make that work with Wilson, Davante Adams and Breece Hall, it’s hard to see how it gets better with Pickens, Warren (?), and whatever number two receiver they decide to bring in. On the other hand though, it’s Aaron freaking Rodgers. How cool would it be to see the four-time MVP in black and gold?

If we know anything, we know Rodgers plays his best when he has a chip on his shoulder, whether it was the media bashing him for never winning a playoff game up until his super bowl run, or going scorched-earth and winning MVP in 2020 after the Packers drafted Jordan Love. We now know the Jets have officially told him he won’t be returning as their guy in 2025, after giving them their best season at quarterback since Ryan Fitzpatrick in 2010. Would it be intriguing to see what a pissed off Rodgers could do next year for a team and fan base that’s more pissed off than anybody? I think so, and I can tell you right now I’d rather see Rodgers under center over Russell Wilson again. Though the Steelers are the betting favorites to land him right now, I don’t think he elevates the team enough to compete more than they have given where he’s at in his career, and with how much he’d likely cost to sign/trade for I don’t think it makes enough sense unfortunately.

Sam Darnold (Free Agent)

I’ll get straight to the point and say this is a big fat no from me dog. Am I happy that Sam Darnold finally got an opportunity to excel with an offensive minded coach and delivered? Absolutely – he’s been through a lot since coming into the league and after the way he played last year he deserves every penny of the contract he’s going to get, but in no way should that be with the Steelers.

Over the last four seasons (one as the OC in LA and the last three as HC of Minnesota), Kevin O’Connell’s passing offenses have been top 6 in both passing yards and passing touchdowns. Other than 2023 when Kirk Cousins went down, those teams also ranked in the top ten in points per game. Of course having Justin Jefferson helps, but the guy is an offensive genius, and just capped off an incredible season by being named the Coach of the Year in 2024. Whether it was Stafford, Cousins, or Darnold this past year, the amount of times you see receivers get the ball with no one in their vicinity is a credit to his scheme, and that’s what I think Darnold benefited from this year.

Even with everything in place, including a defense that led the league in takeaways, Darnold was still sixth in the NFL in interceptions and fourth in sacks taken. Does that sound like someone that can succeed in Pittsburgh, especially with an offensive coordinator who has the exact opposite philosophy as O’Connell? To Darnold’s defense he was in horrendous situations in New York and Carolina before getting the chance to learn in San Fran and develop in Minnesota, but I don’t think that matters. Unless he goes to another perfect coaching situation with studs around him I think he’s still an average to below average quarterback, and with a deal coming likely around four years of upwards of $200 million the Steelers should stay as far away as possible.

Rookie Draft Pick

Given where the Steelers are drafting I think this is very unlikely, but you truly never know so I’d figure I’d bring it up. I haven’t done much scouting yet, but with everything we know now it’s unlikely Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward make it out of the top 5, and then after that it’s a whole lot of mid. We’ll see how the combine and pro days change anything and peek at the reports to see who’s rising and who’s falling, but as of now there’s no one that stands out to me as someone the Steelers should take in the first round. We’ll see if Jaxson Dart, someone I don’t completely hate, rises as some have speculated here early on, but even then the Steelers would really have to like him to justify taking him at 21 overall, only three years after taking a similar prospect in Kenny Pickett at 20.

If they do end up going with another veteran as the starter I wouldn’t mind taking a mid or late round flier to see if they can develop someone. It’s not often that works out in the NFL, especially in the tied down, run-focused system like the Steelers run, but they’re getting desperate at this point and need to try something. Will Howard and Dillion Gabriel are two guys that stand out to me – I like guys that are tough, play with their heart on their sleeves, and are winners. They both fit that bill, and though they lack a lot of the intangibles needed to thrive at quarterback in the league, I wouldn’t hate the idea of taking one of them in the third or fourth round to see if they can develop. Though a bigger project, I also wouldn’t mind taking a shot on Jalen Milroe on day three if he’s still there. The athleticism is too enticing if they can fix his mechanics and accuracy.

Although not completely out of the question it’s probably less than a 5% chance the Steelers 2025 starter is a rookie. Tomlin is under too much heat right now to try and develop a guy when he has no intentions of rebuilding, and the talent of this class at the position is one of the worst we’ve seen in a while.

Russell Wilson (Free Agent)

I didn’t even want to write this part of the article, that’s how bad I hope Russ is not our quarterback again. I vented my frustrations back in October how I thought benching Fields was a mistake, and even if I was wrong for a few weeks the Russ train came quickly crashing. I was at games against both the Jets and at the Commanders, and let me tell you it was incredible – I really thought this team was going to be different with how our offense was playing and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited. But man did Russ get exposed down the stretch. Not having Pickens for three games didn’t help, but Russ reverted to the Denver version of himself so quickly.

His pocket presence is what stands out to me the most. What made Russ so great in Seattle was his ability to get out of the pocket, make guys miss, and create plays down the field with his arm and legs. That is completely gone now, and there were far too many occasions where he thinks he still has the speed to get around teh edge but takes a big sack instead. A number of them came when there was a clean pocket, pulling the Kenny Pickett spin-out-of-nothing move to only throw it away. He doesn’t seem comfortable stepping up, and that impacts his ability to throw over the middle of the field, something he’s never done well. Yeah our line wasn’t the best, but rather than elevating them he made them look even worse at times taking negative plays, and if the Steelers ever move backwards during a drive they might as well just punt the ball the very next play.

It’s hard to do a good statistical comparison to other quarterbacks around the league or to past versions of himself because he only played 11 games, but I don’t really need to because I watched every single one of his snaps. A lot of his stats are padded because of garbage time stuff against the Eagles, Ravens, and Chiefs. Did Russ do some good things? No question – like I said he had me thinking some dirty thoughts there for a few weeks, but when he went up against the big boys his flaws showed. A pick six and redzone fumble against the Ravens, a redzone interception against the Chiefs, staying in bounds with the game on the line against the Bengals, and an unenthusiastic playoff performance against the Ravens showed me all I needed to see. He shouldn’t be back, but the worst part of all of this is that there’s a chance he might be. With reports from Russ himself that he’s discussing a contract and from inside the team that Tomlin loves him, it sucks to admit but it’s leaning toward him returning. Does this surprise me? Of course not, because this is who the Steelers are now, specifically Tomlin. The Standard is now mediocrity, as Kevin Adams would say, and for whatever reason Mike Tomlin thinks doing the same thing over and over again is a good way to win playoff games.

Justin Fields (Free Agent)

It almost seems too easy, but the way the Steelers do things we know they like to make things harder on themselves. You have a 25 year old with a rocket arm, the most athletic quarterback in the league behind Lamar Jackson, someone you can sign for a third of what the top end guys make sitting in the building of team searching for a long-term answer at the position, but you’re going to let him walk? If I’m the Steelers front office there is no chance in hell I’d let that guy leave, regardless of what other teams are offering.

Has his development not been what the rest of the league expected? There’s no doubt – he’s slow to go through his progressions at times, and is prone to taking a big loss because he tries to make a play instead of taking what’s given to him or throwing it away. He also has some spotty accuracy issues, specifically in Pittsburgh with the balls that require a little more touch over the top. I’ll tell you what though, those negatives are not enough to not give this guy a chance, especially with how we saw him improve dramatically at protecting the ball through the first six games. The dude has had zero stability since coming into the league, with two head coaches and two offensive coordinators in three years with the Bears who don’t know what they’re doing over there, and then a third with Arthur Smith in Pittsburgh. Let him get another year in the same system and see what he can do for a full season. We know that Arthur Smith likes working with him, saying how much he loves his attitude and that’s he’s “a premium starter in this league.” I know Smith isn’t the greatest coach in his own right, and honestly I wish he wasn’t in Pittsburgh, but why not provide Fields with a strong coaching relationship on top of playing in a scheme he’s already learned?

It’s never been more clear in the history of the league that in order to succeed a mobile quarterback is a necessity. Mahomes, Allen, Jackson, Burrow, and Hurts, the dude who just won a super bowl on a team that the Steelers are trying so hard to replicate. The Eagles showed that great defense, running the football, and timely playmaking from your quarterback is enough, so why not try it? Justin Fields is electrifying when he gets on the move, and that at the very least should have Rooney’s attention to try and appease a fan base that hasn’t been this aggravated since the ’80’s (according to my dad).

The Unknown

I’m glad I ended up not posting this article earlier, as we just had a report come out from Ryan Burr saying the Steelers asked the Jaguars about Trevor Lawrence. As someone who’s as tuned in as anyone in the NFL world, this is the first time I’ve ever heard of this dude and will probably be the last. We already had Kaboly report that’s totally false, and I couldn’t agree more with that. It’s an interesting proposition, and you can’t blame the front office for calling if they actually did, but the draft capital it would cost and contract they’d have to take on would limit a team with already so many holes even more.

But who knows, maybe Omar Khan decides to shock the world and pull something like that off. The only other guy I could possibly see this happening with is Kyler Murray, and even that is a complete longshot. So no Lawrence, no Murray, everyone else is safe, what does that leave us with? Perhaps Matthew Stafford, who’s planning to come back next year and may be a little upset the Rams are looking to trade his good friend Cooper Kupp? I’m a Stafford fan and honestly wouldn’t hate it, but unless they force him out I have a really hard time seeing how he’d want to leave Sean McVay, Puka Nacua and Kyren Williams coming off yet another playoff win. It’s also difficult to picture a gunslinger like Stafford enjoying, let alone succeeding, in Arthur Smith’s offense.

The final option would be to stun everyone and trade up into the top 5 in the draft to take Ward or Sanders. If they do that I’ll finally be able to say I’ve seen it all, but the chances of that happening are lower than trading for Lawrence or Murray. It’s not what the Steelers do. Plus, I don’t think Ward or Sanders, especially Sanders, are anything special at all. Leave them to the Giants, Browns, and Jets of the world and let them continue to light their own dumpster fires even brighter.

There’s no doubt it’s a brutal time to be a Steelers fan. Two of the top five quarterbacks in the league in Jackson and Burrow are in your division. You took Terrell Edmunds over Lamar, and you took Chase Claypool over Jalen Hurts, arguably another top five guy. You’ve been stuck in draft purgatory since 2003, and the one time you traded into the top ten you took Devin Bush. Thank God Tomlin hasn’t had a losing season, right? This is what you get for not preparing for life after a first-ballot hall of famer. I honestly don’t think there really is a right answer – every guy on this list has major flaws, and as much as I hate to say it none of them are bringing us deep into the playoffs in 2025. BUT, if you sign Fields to a multi-year deal you have the chance to build around him, let him grow, and see what happens. And if we’re bad with him as our starter? We get a chance at a good draft pick for once, and maybe there will finally be some much-deserved heat on Tomlin’s Iron Throne in Pittsburgh.