The clock is ticking for the Pittsburgh Steelers to figure out who will start at quarterback next season. It was March of 2024, not long before the NFL Draft, when they acquired two quarterbacks who would start for them the following season in Russell Wilson and Justin Fields.
The season didn’t end how the Steelers hoped it would, however. Now that both Wilson and Fields are free agents, the Steelers are heading back to the wishing well to try and figure out who will bear the responsibility of trying to lead Pittsburgh to its first playoff win since 2016.
Will the Steelers resign Wilson, Fields or both? Will they draft a rookie in the middle of the first round, trade up, or pick a guy in one of the later rounds? Could the Steelers sign or trade for a veteran that is looking for a new home?
Here are the Steelers’ top five options at quarterback next season.
5. Aaron Rodgers
Rodgers has experienced an interesting career arc. He won back-to-back MVP Awards in 2020 and 2021. In the former of those two years, Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers made the playoffs and took down the Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional round. In the NFC Championship, Rodgers couldn’t capitalize on three second-half interceptions by the opposing quarterback, Tom Brady, and the Packers lost 31-26.
The following season, another MVP year for Rodgers and his fourth overall, the Packers lost to the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional round 13-10.
The following year, the Packers were on an improbable run to make the playoffs. They won four straight games and received help from other teams heading into the regular season finale against the Lions, who were eliminated from playoff contention. In this de facto playoff game, the Packers fell to the Detroit Lions 20-16. Rodgers would throw his final pass as a Packer — an interception to Lions safety Kerby Joseph.
After threatening to retire, request a trade or hold out several times, Rodgers forced his way out of the franchise he won a Super Bowl with via a trade to the New York Jets.
Tragically, Rogers tore his Achilles tendon only a few snaps into his first game with the Jets. Without Rodgers, the player who was supposed to help lead the Jets to their first division win since 2002, the Jets finished with a 7-10 record while being quarterbacked by 2021 No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson.
Then, Rodgers made his return for the 2024 season. Despite Super Bowl aspirations set forth by Rodgers and owner Woody Johnson, who called the roster the best he’d had in two-plus-decades of ownership, the Jets finished 5-12. On the way, they fired their head coach Robert Salah after five games, demoted their offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and traded for Rodgers’ old teammate in star wide receiver Davante Adams.
To Rodgers’ credit, he started all 17 games. He totaled 3,897 passing yards, 28 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 40 sacks taken and a 63% completion percentage. The Jets’ offense ranked No. 24 in both points and in yards. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough, and firing Saleh cratered the once-vaunted defense the Jets had built.
The Jets have now hired Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn to be their new head coach. On Feb. 13, 2025, the Jets released a statement saying they were “moving in a different direction at quarterback.”
At 41-years-old, Rodgers has played in 248 career games. Should he suit up one more game he would tie Ben Roethlisberger’s career games played of 249.
The argument for signing Rodgers is simple — he’s a veteran who has won a Super Bowl, will likely play for cheap, and is available. The last reason has been a big one for the Steelers in recent offseasons. It’s often hard to even find a guy available let alone the right guy.
But it’s been a long time since Rodgers was able to carry an offense like he once was able to. On top of age, injuries, and organizational dysfunction that has followed him in recent seasons, Rodgers is likely low on the list of the Steelers’ optimal options at quarterback.
4. Matthew Stafford
The Rams went all in when they traded their former No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff to the Lions for a veteran in Stafford back in early 2021. Although Goff quarterbacked the Rams to a Super Bowl loss against the New England Patriots, the Rams thought they could improve with Stafford. Stafford’s first season resulted in a Super Bowl victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, making the acquisition immediately worth it.
Stafford underwent elbow surgery after the win. Stafford only played nine games the following season, going 3-6 in those outings. The Rams missed the playoffs — an unsurprising result as 16 other Super Bowl champions haven’t qualified for the postseason the following year — but the Rams knew they would have Stafford back at full strength for the next season.
In 2023, Stafford threw for just under 4,000 yards and finished eighth in MVP voting. The Rams made the playoffs and traveled to Detroit, Stafford’s previous home, in the Wild Card round. Despite spending 12 seasons as the quarterback of the Lions, it wasn’t a warm welcome. The Rams lost 24-23.
2024 was a similar story. The Rams’ star wide receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp, the latter of whom was 2021 Super Bowl MVP, missed a lot of time due to injury. After it all, the Rams won the NFC West anyway and hosted the 14-3 Minnesota Vikings. The Rams trounced the Vikings 27-9 and Stafford passed for 209 yards and two touchdowns.
In the Divisional round, Stafford threw for 324 yards and two touchdowns, but lost to the eventual Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, 28-22.
The Steelers have no recent Super Bowl loss to reflect on like the Rams did, but they sure do hope that Stafford could bring similar spoils as he brought L.A.
Stafford just turned 37-years-old. His 2024 season statistics are on par with Rodgers 2022 statistics, his final season in Green Bay. While Rodgers’ Super Bowl win (which came against the Steelers) came in 2011, Stafford’s win is near in the rear view. Since that Super Bowl win against the Bengals, Stafford’s value has been obvious. The season he missed half the games, 2022, the Rams missed the playoffs. In the following season, the Rams made the playoffs. Last season, the Rams won a playoff game against a 14-win team.
The Steelers could simply sign Rodgers as another team admitted that they didn’t need his efforts any longer. But if the Steelers want the other veteran, Super Bowl-winning quarterback on the market, they’ll have to make a trade. Stafford is under contract for two more years with a cap hit of just under 20% in each of those seasons. The trade package the Steelers likely would have to foot includes a couple of second-round picks and a first-round pick swap with the Rams if not a first-round pick outright.
Stafford is a good player and has proven he can impact winning, especially in the playoffs. But having to trade a number of high-value picks and pay him a substantial portion of the salary cap makes the idea of acquiring Stafford much less enticing.
3. Russell Wilson
The Pittsburgh Steelers signed Wilson last offseason as a veteran who could help lead the Steelers to the promised land, or at least a playoff win. Wilson suffered an injury in training camp that kept him out from the Steelers’ first six games, where they went 4-2.
When Wilson finally made his Steelers debut against the New York Jets at home in primetime, expectations quickly shot through the roof. There were some early boos from the home crowd as the Steelers’ offense took a few drives to get going, but when the game was over, the scoreboard showed 37 points — the most the Steelers had scored in a win since 2020 against the Eagles.
The win was the start of a four-game winning streak with Wilson under center that had the Steelers resting comfortably in the playoffs and at the top of the AFC North. As Steelers fans likely remember, the team would lose five of their final seven games and finish the season on a five-game losing streak, including a Wild Card round loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
That disappointing end to the season was enough for a large number of Steelers fans to voice their desire for widespread change throughout the organization. The GM, head coach, and offensive and defensive coordinators have not changed at this point in the offseason. In the NFL, a lack of changes in the front office or coaching staff often means the quarterback is the only other job up for grabs.
Wilson likely played good enough to earn another season as the Steelers quarterback. He threw for 225.6 yards per game, 16 touchdowns and five interceptions in his 11 regular season games with the Steelers. However, there a few too many instances, especially the loss in the playoffs to the Ravens, where the Steelers offense fell flat.
Wilson is a free agent. If the Steelers want to bring him back they would likely have to give him around $30 million a year — a similar amount the Steelers would likely have to pay Stafford if they were to trade for him.
Compared to the quarterback market across the league, that’s not a bad price. However, the mid-level quarterback contract has not had a ton of success. It’s common knowledge that the ideal scenario is for an NFL franchise to compete for a Super Bowl with a quarterback on a rookie contract. The second best situation is to have a quarterback good enough to earn top-level money that chooses to earn a little less.
Wilson is somewhere in the middle, where he’s accomplished enough and experienced enough to earn $30 million, but not productive enough to warrant top-level money, meaning the Steelers’ ceiling likely is at the value of the contract — in the mid-level.
In many professions and situations, being an incumbent can help. If Wilson had the season he had for a different organization, there is a great chance he would be higher on this list to be the Steelers’ 2025 quarterback. But the Steelers have ended too many disappointed, and investing heavily in Wilson to, ‘run it back,’ likely won’t make many fans happy.
2. Jalen Milroe, Jaxson Dart or Will Howard
There are a couple of different prospects the Steelers could take a swing on in the upcoming NFL Draft in Green Bay. The ‘quality’ of the prospect depends on how valuable of a pick the Steelers want to invest, but here are a couple of different options.
If the Steelers want to spend their first-round, No. 21 pick on a quarterback, the draft-pick announcement will likely be, “Jalen Milroe, quarterback, Alabama.” Milroe is perceived as a quarterback prospect with a high ceiling and “Lamar Jackson-like traits,” which is a credit to his running ability. But, Milroe’s ability as a passer is still for the jury to decide.
This last season at Alabama, he passed for 2,844 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. He also rushed for 20 touchdowns and 726 yards on 168 carries.
As Milroe has slipped down the big board a bit, Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart has started to climb.
Although Dart is not projected to get drafted in the first round, his physical tools and ability might enthrall an NFL franchise enough to take that first-round swing.
Dart would fit right in with their previous offensive focus on the deep ball. Dart threw for 4,279 yards, 29 touchdowns, and six interceptions last season. He also rushed for three touchdowns and 495 yards on 124 carries. Dart also led all FBS quarterbacks with 10.8 yards and 11.53 air yards per attempt.
If the Steelers want to try and mirror the skillsets of Justin Fields, Milroe is the more likely draft choice. If the Steelers liked what the offense looked like with Wilson, then Dart could be the Steelers’ quarterback draft selection. The latter might not even require a first-round pick depending on how the draft falls.
If the Steelers want to wait until Day Three to draft a quarterback, if they select one at all, they could take a chance on Ohio State quarterback Will Howard, who just won the College Football National Championship with Ohio State.
Howard threw for 4,010 yards, 35 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions this past season. He also rushed for 226 yards and seven touchdowns on 105 carries. Howard is also from Downingtown, Pa., and is a very experienced collegiate player as he spent his first four seasons at Kansas State.
Any of the three prospects named, or an unnamed one, give the Steelers another chance reset the clock. The rookie pay scale allows teams flexibility in their roster construction and gives them an optimal window to compete for a Super Bowl. They took their swing recently when they drafted Kenny Pickett in the first round, but Pickett was traded to the Eagles and won a Super Bowl there. Maybe Milroe, Dart or Howard give the Steelers a chance to have similar success.
1. Justin Fields
Fields just finished his rookie contract, leaving that window just mentioned in the past. But he had limited success on his previous team, the Chicago Bears, and got a limited opportunity with the Steelers.
In his six starts with the Steelers, Fields led the team to a 4-2 record. Once Wilson got the starting job back as he returned from injury, however, Fields rarely saw the field. He threw for 1,106 yards, five touchdowns and an interception. He also rushed for five touchdowns and 289 yards on 62 carries.
That production throughout six starts was exciting for Steelers fans. In his final start against the Las Vegas Raiders, the Steelers put up 32 points. Fans were seeing flashes that the Bears saw when they selected him with the No. 11 pick in 2021. They were seeing the cannon of an arm and the rushing ability. The Bears had a record of 10-28 with Fields under center, so a 4-2 start to the season was very promising.
However, accuracy and fumbling were still major problems for Fields, and they were big enough to force head coach Mike Tomlin to decide to give Wilson his starting job back. Fields was a consummate teammate, as often seen on Hard Knocks. Although it’s likely he would much rather be the starter, Fields took the time to learn what he could as the backup and stayed ready in the event he was needed.
If the Steelers want to bring back Fields to quarterback the team in 2025, it’s likely they’ll have to pay him around $20 million a year. That’s a fairly reasonable price to pay for a quarterback with untapped potential.
Who knows what the Steelers’ season would’ve looked like if Fields started every game. In a situation opposite of Wilson, Fields may benefit from being the backup last season and maintaining the benefit of the doubt.
As the NFL has shown, a team is as good as their quarterback, with the exception of some of the best rosters of all time. If Fields is the Steelers quarterback, will he be expected to slingshot the Steelers into contention immediately? If they have another first-round playoff exit, will Fields be done away with and a new guy be brought in?
The Steelers needs to make a decision at quarterback that sets them up for the future. A late first-round draft pick and free agency are not typically ways to build a contender in the NFL, but it is the situation the Steelers face. Will they take a swing on a Super Bowl-winning veteran that ‘knows how to win’ or a young guy who could maybe exceed the known ceiling the veterans bring.
