The Pittsburgh Steelers’ options at quarterback, aside from Aaron Rodgers, are dwindling by the week. The latest possible Plan B to land elsewhere was Kirk Cousins, heading to Las Vegas this week. At this point, ESPN’s Kevin Clark thinks the Steelers have backed themselves into a corner. And even if their Plan A does sign with the Steelers, Clark doesn’t have high expectations for the 2026 season.
“They’re backed into a corner. They can’t sign Kirk Cousins. I don’t think they’re gonna be a Ty Simpson candidate. All of the guys that they maybe would target, a Carson Beck, a Nussmeier, the names that she said, those aren’t day-one starters. So you’re looking at Will Howard or Aaron Rodgers. But all of those give you limited offensive options,” Clark said Friday on ESPN’s NFL Live. “So, I’m confused as to the plan, if it’s not Rodgers. But even if it is Rodgers, guess what Mike McCarthy? You get a Mike Tomlin season, 9-8.”
Similar to last year with Shedeur Sanders and Jaxson Dart, Ty Simpson has been mocked to the Steelers plenty at No. 21 overall. But like those other two quarterbacks, Simpson has some risk involved. Most of it has to do with his lack of experience. Simpson started just one season at Alabama, got off to a flaming hot start, then struggled toward the end of the year while dealing with injuries. There’s a lot of promise, but some beat writers think his lack of experience is a turn off for the Steelers.
Pittsburgh has, on the other hand, been connected to mid-round names like Carson Beck, Drew Allar and Garrett Nussmeier. But given their respective draft stocks, they probably aren’t going to start right away. If Aaron Rodgers doesn’t come back to Pittsburgh, the chances of Will Howard and Mason Rudolph competing for the starting job are only growing.
The latter has plenty of experience for the franchise, but none with the new coaching staff. He’s been reliable at times as a backup, but has proven limited as a starter in his career. Howard brings a lot more promise. He’s quickly gained a ton of support from the fan base. Mike McCarthy and Omar Khan have only piled onto that each time they speak to the media. Howard is the only young quarterback currently in Pittsburgh, a city that has desperately wanted its own franchise quarterback for years now.
If Aaron Rodgers does come back, we saw his limitations last year. But the Steelers were able to give him another receiving threat in Michael Pittman Jr. Pittsburgh has plenty of chances to add another receiver in the first two days of the draft.
It should be a better supporting cast if Rodgers does come back. But Clark is still expecting a season similar to what the Steelers just went through in 2025.
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