As was the case at this time last spring, the Steelers do not have an established starting quarterback. They are once again awaiting an answer from free agent Aaron Rodgers, who took until early June to join the Steelers last year. Rodgers was in Pittsburgh last week, though the future Hall of Famer did not visit team facilities. While no deal has materialized since then, “all signs” point to Rodgers re-signing, James Palmer of Bleacher Report says.
The Steelers’ decision to wait for Rodgers last year worked out fine during the regular season. The former Packer and Jet posted respectable production over 16 starts, during which the Steelers went 10-6. They lost to Chicago in his only absence, a Week 12 game in which Mason Rudolph started.
The Steelers’ 10-7 finish was good enough to earn an AFC North title, but the Texans trounced them in a 30-6 wild-card round matchup. After losing his seventh straight playoff game, 19-year head coach Mike Tomlin resigned.
Given his affinity for Tomlin, it initially appeared the 42-year-old Rodgers would either retire or play elsewhere in 2026. But the Steelers reopened the door for a second season with Rodgers when they hired Mike McCarthy to replace Tomlin. McCarthy coached Rodgers in Green Bay from 2006-18. The two won the only Super Bowl of their respective careers together in 2010, and Rodgers took home a pair of his four MVP awards under McCarthy.
Rodgers’ MVP form is long gone, but he still looks like the Steelers’ best bet to find a passable starter at this juncture of the offseason. The free agent market has dried up, the draft has passed, and there are no surefire upgrades available via trade.
In the unlikely event Rodgers does not re-up with the Steelers, it would leave them with Rudolph (a career backup), Will Howard and Drew Allar as in-house options. A previous report suggested the Rodgers-less Steelers could stage a competition between Rudolph and Howard, but Mark Kaboly of The Pat McAfee Show passes along different information. The Steelers “have no expectations” that Howard or Allar will play this year, according to Kaboly.
Pittsburgh spent a 2025 sixth-rounder on Howard, who won a national championship at Ohio State but has not garnered any meaningful NFL experience. Howard did not take a single snap in his first season.
As for Allar, the third-round rookie from Penn State has serious work to do before he steps foot on a regular-season field in the pros. McCarthy and QBs coach Tom Arth are rebuilding Allar’s mechanics “from the ground up,” Mike DeFabo of The Athletic reports. That suggests Allar could be in for a redshirt season in 2026, regardless of whether Rodgers returns.
The Steelers will continue molding Allar as they begin voluntary OTAs on Monday, which Palmer notes is a date many “have circled” for a potential Rodgers decision. If the Steelers are still without an answer then, Rudolph will presumably enter the proceedings as the de facto QB1. The 30-year-old has just 19 starts on his resume. Rodgers has made 257. Because they placed the uncommon UFA tender on Rodgers, the Steelers will have exclusive negotiating rights with him if he is still unsigned past July 22.
“The Steelers’ decision to wait for Rodgers last year worked out fine during the regular season.”
The impression I get from Steelers fans who were ready to move on from Tomlin is that they’re sick and tired of “fine during the regular season.”
You’re a team without a starting quarterback, you’ve got 3 QBs on the roster, and you’re saying right now, before the season’s even close to starting, that you don’t expect 2 of them to touch the ball in the regular season. I get Allar being worked on, but what possible reason does Will Howard have to be there? They’re so low on him that they don’t even want to see what they have? Why keep him on the roster?