The Aaron Rodgers Steelers 2026 saga is running the exact same play it ran in 2025. No decision. No timeline. No obligation. And Pittsburgh sitting on 12 draft picks in a draft happening in their own building, still waiting for a 42-year-old free agent to decide if he wants to play football.
Draft a quarterback this weekend. Any of them. Then call Rodgers and tell him the spot got filled.
I understand what he did last year. Twenty-four touchdowns, seven interceptions, played six games with fractures in his wrist, helped Pittsburgh win 10 games and the AFC North for the first time since 2020. None of that is nothing. But the Steelers got wiped by the Texans in the Wild Card, Tomlin got let go, and this franchise had a real window to start over. What they chose instead was another offseason of waiting by the phone.
The Reset That Never Happened
Tomlin out. Mike McCarthy in. Michael Pittman Jr. acquired in a trade. Twelve picks. All of that sounds like a front office with options and a plan. The problem is every one of those moves is built around a foundation that doesn’t exist yet because Aaron Rodgers hasn’t told anyone what he’s doing.
McCarthy spent the offseason publicly talking about how much he’d enjoy developing a young quarterback. Art Rooney II told reporters in March he expected an answer from Rodgers before the draft. NFL Network reported Monday that the Steelers have not received word from Rodgers and there is no expectation of a decision before Thursday night. Omar Khan said at the combine in February that he didn’t foresee this dragging out like last year. It dragged out exactly like last year. Rodgers didn’t officially sign in Pittsburgh until June 5 in 2025.
Two straight offseasons. One free agent. The whole thing on hold.
Pittsburgh Already Paid the Price for Waiting
Malik Willis signed with Miami. Kyler Murray signed with the Vikings. Kirk Cousins, who was reportedly on the Steelers’ radar this offseason and the one before it, signed with Las Vegas for $20 million guaranteed. Tua Tagovailoa went to Atlanta. Every quarterback who could have walked into a starting job somewhere took it while Pittsburgh held position.
Tom Pelissero confirmed the Steelers called and checked on Cousins while waiting on Rodgers. The Falcons kept him out of trades last offseason. This year he walked right out to Vegas and signed while Khan was still describing the Rodgers situation as “positive and good communication.” That’s what positive communication costs you when the other guy has no deadline and no contract.
Cousins isn’t the answer at 38. Kyler Murray wasn’t going to Pittsburgh regardless. But the pattern is real. The Steelers keep missing the window because they keep leaving the window open for Rodgers, and Rodgers keeps taking his time because nobody has ever made him pay for it.
Aaron Rodgers Steelers 2026 or Not, the Draft Has the Answer
Ty Simpson, Carson Beck, Drew Allar. The Steelers have done visits and had meetings with all of them per reports, so the homework is already done. I’m not going to tell you Simpson is going to be great. He might not be. But Simpson shows up in May. He takes reps. He competes with Will Howard for the job. That alone makes him more valuable to this organization’s future than a guy who hasn’t said a word.
Carson Beck keeps surfacing as the name Pittsburgh has the most interest in. Drew Allar is a Pittsburgh kid who went to Penn State and would walk into this city with something to prove. Pick one. Third round, fourth round, trade up if you have to. The floor once you draft somebody is you have a quarterback in the building. The floor right now without doing that is Will Howard, a 2025 sixth-rounder who took zero regular-season snaps, and Mason Rudolph. That is not a floor. That is a prayer.
McCarthy wants to develop a young quarterback. Fine. There is a draft in Pittsburgh this weekend. Draft one.
Twelve Picks and a Trade Market Is More Than Enough
Pittsburgh has 12 picks and both Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig are floating around in trade conversations around the league, per Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports. Word is it’s a one-but-not-both situation, with Highsmith the more likely to move. Get a second-round pick for Highsmith and now you have real ammunition to move up for the quarterback you want. T.J. Watt, Herbig, and Jack Sawyer are not a bad edge group to come home to.
If you don’t love anyone at your current slot, move up. If you want a veteran bridge while the young guy develops, fine. Davis Mills is available. There are options. The point is Pittsburgh has the capital to do something real this weekend and every day they spend waiting on Rodgers is a day they could have been building instead.
Rodgers is doing what Rodgers does. Same thing Favre did out of Green Bay for years. It’s not a character flaw, it’s just who he is. The Steelers have chosen twice now to play this game with open eyes. At some point the franchise decides whether it’s building something or just hoping a 43-year-old shows up in June.
Draft a quarterback this weekend. Tell Rodgers the spot got filled. He’ll come back or he won’t. But Pittsburgh stops holding its breath either way.
