Aaron Rodgers finally made his decision a couple of weeks ago. Now, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback room is complete for the 2025 season. However, during the long wait for Rodgers, there was loads of speculation as to whether the Steelers might target a quarterback with the 21st overall selection in the draft. More specifically, many thought it might be Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders.
According to Steelers insider Ray Fittipaldo, the team didn’t have an issue with Sanders as a person. However, he just wasn’t what they preferred in a quarterback.
“When Shedeur came in for the visit, the Steelers didn’t have a bad impression of him or anything like that,” Fittipaldo said Thursday on 93.7 The Fan. “They thought he was a good kid. It just didn’t match up with what they wanted in a quarterback.”
Ultimately, the Steelers are getting a much different quarterback in Aaron Rodgers. Both Shedeur Sanders and Rodgers are accurate, but Rodgers has a much stronger arm. Additionally, the Steelers value the experience Rodgers brings to the table. In Sanders, they’d be getting a quarterback who has potential, but needed to develop. With Rodgers, they’re getting someone who’s got over two decades at the professional level under his belt.
Of course, Rodgers isn’t what he once was. However, for a Steelers team that has plenty of veterans on the defense who are only getting older, Rodgers makes more sense. He’s not going to need time to develop, or have any rookie mistakes. Based on the fact that the Steelers seem to be targeting the 2026 draft for a quarterback, using a first-round pick on a QB would have made things more complicated than necessary.
However, the Steelers didn’t just pass on Sanders in the first round. They also passed on him in the third, then again in the fourth. According to Fittipaldo, that’s because they wouldn’t have taken him in the first five rounds anyways.
“I think mostly it had to do with, they didn’t have a grade on him in the first five rounds… A lot of people just didn’t want to deal with Deion Sanders, and what that might mean down the road… I don’t know if the Steelers felt that same way, but they did not have a top-five round grade on Shedeur Sanders, that’s why they went the route they went,” Fittipaldo said.
Sanders ended up being selected in the fifth round by the Cleveland Browns. He now joins a complicated quarterback room, to say the least. He’s not the only rookie in the room, with Cleveland taking Dillon Gabriel two rounds ahead of him. There’s also former Steeler Kenny Pickett, who isn’t impressing much so far this offseason. Finally, Joe Flacco is the fourth member, and the only real veteran presence.
Sanders seems to be off to a good start in Cleveland, on the field. Off of it, he found his name in the headlines earlier this week, being cited for driving over the speed limit, upwards of 100 miles per hour. Other than that, his start with the Browns has mostly been positive. He’s also held several community events in the area.
If Sanders ends up starting, he’ll get his chance to prove the Steelers wrong in Weeks 6 and 17.
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