While the Aaron Rodgers saga drones on interminably without an immediate end in sight, the Steelers are continuing to evaluate quarterback prospects in the upcoming NFL draft.
Coach Mike Tomlin and general manager Omar Khan have already met or are planning to meet with several quarterbacks who could be Day 2 choices in the draft during their tour of college pro days.
They had dinner with quarterback Jalen Milroe and several other Alabama players on Tuesday night before their pro day workouts. They are likely to do the same next week with Ohio State’s Will Howard and Quinn Ewers of Texas during their respective pro days.
Going to lunch or dinner with prospective prospects is nothing new for Tomlin and Khan. They do it every year, often including three to four other teammates who have high draft profiles in their gatherings.
That is always the case at schools such as Alabama, Ohio State and Texas, programs that typically have several top draft prospects. And so it is again this year.
Even if Rodgers eventually agrees to a deal with the Steelers, it doesn’t affect their plan to find a quarterback for the future, either this year or next.
The revolving door at the position — this will be the fifth year in a row the Steelers will open the season with a different starting quarterback — is a trend they don’t want to continue. But they might not be in a position to do anything this year beyond drafting a quarterback in the third round or later.
The Steelers do not have a second-round pick after trading it away in the deal for receiver DK Metcalf. And the quarterback draft class appears to have a gap between the top two prospects — Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders — and the rest of the field that includes Milroe, Howard, Ewers, Jaxson Dart and Tyler Shough.
Draft analysts Mel Kiper Jr. and Daniel Jeremiah each have the Steelers selecting Dart with the 21st overall selection. But after ignoring their defensive line in free agency, the Steelers might be inclined to address that aging unit more than any other with their No. 1 pick — not wait until the third round.
That’s where it’s more likely the Steelers might find a quarterback. And several of the ones they are discussing should still be available.
Keep in mind the Steelers could always make a move to trade back into the second round. But also keep in mind the Steelers could make a similar trade to get an additional second-round pick next year and use that — along with some of the compensatory picks they are likely to receive — to move up in the first round and get a top quarterback in 2026.
Rodgers is being courted for the same reason Russell Wilson was last year: to win a playoff game and end their postseason drought.
But it does not impact what they intend to do with the position going forward, not if they want to develop into a serious playoff contender.
First Published: March 20, 2025, 5:59 p.m.
Updated: March 21, 2025, 2:05 p.m.
