The Pittsburgh Steelers seem ready to wait as long as it takes for Aaron Rodgers to give them a decision on his 2026 season. If he says no, then the Steelers are going to have a tough decision of their own. They could draft a quarterback, or go with their own young option in Will Howard. Or, they could bring in a veteran, with Kirk Cousins being an option that’s come up plenty. But to Mark Schlereth, Derek Carr is a name the Steelers should keep an eye on.
“How about Derek Carr in Pittsburgh with the Steelers? Comes back, Mike McCarthy, they played in the playoffs last year. Now you couple a DK Metcalf, with a Pittman who I like,” Schlereth said Monday on his Stinkin Truth Podcast. “I think he’s [Carr] tough, I think he’s smart, I think he’s a really good player that probably takes too much of a beating. I think you can win with Derek Carr, in the right environment, I just think that makes sense to me.”
If you’re a Steelers fan who was unhappy with Mike Tomlin’s inability to get over the hump, and didn’t like hiring Mike McCarthy for the same reason, Derek Carr might not be the quarterback for you. His teams have made the playoffs twice in his career. He only played in one game, which he lost to Cincinnati in 2021.
Derek Carr spent many years with the Raiders, and thus he’ lost a lot of games. But Schlereth is right that you can win with him, in the right situation. Back in 2016, Carr was actually an outside MVP candidate late in the year, and was 12-3 before breaking his leg just before the playoffs. Carr’s been solid on the stat sheet throughout his career, but the wins haven’t consistently followed.
He has a solid arm, is happy to take what the defense gives him, and throws a pretty accurate ball. He’s also very good at diagnosing things before the snap. Carr certainly wouldn’t be the best quarterback McCarthy has ever worked with, but there are some tools for the coach to explore.
That said, there are a few risks here. Carr retired before the 2025 season as he was dealing with a shoulder injury. He’s said he’s training, and that he’s had a few “serious” conversations with teams. If he’s healthy now, he’s not that far removed from playing some solid football. But at the age of 34, with a serious injury not that long ago and now an entire year out of the league, there’s a lot of risk in this decision.
He would probably work in a mentor role, but Carr isn’t going to come out of retirement unless he’s playing. But there could be a world in where the Steelers consider him. If Rodgers doesn’t come back, and they don’t like Howard as much as they say they do, all bets are off. They’ve missed out on quarterbacks already, and the draft isn’t very promising. It’s a whole lot of ifs, but maybe Derek Carr is someone that pops onto the Steelers’ radar.
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