It seems clear that the Pittsburgh Steelers are happy to have Aaron Rodgers back. But it’s not a guarantee that he’ll be in Pittsburgh again in 2026. If he’s not, the Steelers’ options aren’t especially appetizing at quarterback. The trade market lacks excitement, and while Malik Willis offers potential in free agency, he’ll likely be expensive. Thus, Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr thinks the Steelers might have to start looking outside the box, including Houston’s C.J. Stroud.
“If Aaron Rodgers decides not to come back to Pittsburgh. You have a Steelers team with a late first-round draft pick, and this perpetual issue of not being good enough to trade up for a top-flight rookie,” Orr said Tuesday on his MMQB podcast. “If you’re the Steelers, and Mike McCarthy, is that the phone call that you make? Where, C.J. Stroud is a classic drop-back passer, with just enough athleticism sprinkled in there that could make it work for me. I’m like, man, that’s the team where I’m like, I wonder if they do it.”
At this stage in his career, Stroud is a very interesting name. He took the league by storm in his rookie season, leading the Texans to an AFC South title and a playoff victory as well. Stroud took his team back to the divisional round again in 2024, but things weren’t quite as pretty. In 2025, Stroud beat the Steelers in the Wild Card round, but it came with an ugly performance, followed by an even worse showing a week later in the loss to New England.
Stroud had an excellent rookie year, but his last two haven’t been as good. In 2025, he threw for 3,041 yards, 19 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. After posting a passer rating of 100.8 in his rookie year, he’s followed it up with 87.0 in 2024 and 92.9 in 2025.
Those aren’t bad numbers, but they do make the idea of trading for Stroud a little scary. And this is speculation from Orr, as we don’t know whether the Texans would even consider trading Stroud. He has one year left on his deal, but the Texans will likely pick up his fifth-year option. Although he hasn’t matched his rookie year statistically, Stroud has one terrific season under his belt, is still 24 years old, and was the second overall pick. Any trade for him, with that resume, could be expensive.
If the Steelers wanted Stroud, it probably wouldn’t be cheap. But it could be something to consider, though it’s pure speculation for now. If Rodgers doesn’t come back and the Steelers don’t make any initial moves at the position, maybe Stroud’s name enters the conversation in the future.
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