The Pittsburgh Steelers are once again waiting on Aaron Rodgers. They had to wait through free agency, the draft, and then several weeks after that for him to make a decision in 2025. While many initially expected this year’s wait to be shorter, there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight right now.
To Nick Wright, things are getting to a drastic point. With the draft a little over a month away, he thinks the fact that Rodgers hasn’t made a decision yet is ridiculous. As an alternative for the Steelers, he suggests Kirk Cousins.
“I think they should sign Kirk Cousins. I am offended on the Steelers’ behalf that Rodgers is such a delicate snowflake that he can’t make his decision yet… It is inexplicable, bordering on indefensible, why Aaron Rodgers is not on the Steelers yet, if assuming the Steelers want him, which it appears they do. And this whole, ‘They haven’t offered me a contract’ nonsense he peddled to McAfee,” Wright said Friday on his First Things First show. “For some reason, he needs to be special… You know who’s playing quarterback for you, but for some reason he won’t sign up for it. On the position in sports where leadership matters the most, that’s a bad idea. So I’d just sign Kirk Cousins. He seems awesome.”
“I think they should sign Kirk Cousins. I am offended on the Steelers’ behalf that Rodgers…can’t make his decision yet.”@getnickwright says Pittsburgh needs to be done with Aaron Rodgers: pic.twitter.com/IRHbbGffHU
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) March 20, 2026
Aaron Rodgers’ preference to take his time while making decisions certainly isn’t earning him many fans in the media. He, along with the Steelers were criticized plenty for the long wait last year, and the same sentiment is growing this offseason with each day that passes without a decision.
While it’s frustrating to have to wait for an answer, the Steelers are choosing this fate. They could have gone after someone like Malik Willis, but that’s risky considering how much Miami is paying him. Kyler Murray and Tua Tagovailoa were on the market, but each quickly found new destinations without the Steelers showing interest.
Kirk Cousins is another veteran option out there. But he’s not someone Steelers fans are excited about, which makes sense. He’s also older with an Achilles injury in the rearview mirror. While Cousins played some solid football to end the 2025 season, it wasn’t like it was at a level much higher than Rodgers.
Pittsburgh has spoken about its comfortability in Will Howard plenty. And the Steelers are also set to meet with a few quarterbacks in this year’s draft cycle. The Steelers are doing their due diligence on the position, even though they seem content with waiting on Rodgers.
It’s understandable to be frustrated with the wait. But this is the situation the Steelers are in, and it’s one they chose to be in. And that decision does make some sense. They clearly weren’t comfortable with any options on the free agent or trade markets. There isn’t a clear opening-day starter in the draft, aside from maybe Ty Simpson. And if Rodgers does return, the Steelers are easily his clearest destination. Pittsburgh would hope that decision comes sooner rather than later. But with Aaron Rodgers, there’s no telling when that will actually happen.
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