The Pittsburgh Steelers are going through their first offseason without Mike Tomlin in quite awhile. While it’s been a different process, the Steelers have strengthened their depth on both offense and defense, and there is a lot to like about their offseason moves so far.
Yet, the quarterback position is still a question mark. The Steelers are waiting on Aaron Rodgers again, this time under Mike McCarthy. That’s something that doesn’t make sense to Bomani Jones, who isn’t expecting Rodgers to look any better in 2026, if he does return. It also makes Jones question whether some of the flak Mike Tomlin got throughout the end of his tenure was deserved.
“Aaron Rodgers could never be the answer. Aaron Rodgers last year wasn’t good enough. There’s no reason to assume he’ll be as good next year as he was last year. That’s just not how things work. So why are we, like, why in the world are you doing this? Why weren’t you the ones to go get Malik Willis, or something?” Jones said Thursday on his Right Time podcast. “I just can’t imagine how they got themselves stuck in this place that they’re in. And, by the way, which makes me look at Mike Tomlin, and be like, ‘Okay, maybe it wasn’t on you.'”
Rodgers is clearly a limited quarterback at this point in his career. When the pass rush got home and his receivers weren’t getting open quickly enough, the Steelers’ offense was bad last year. But there were times when he had protection and was able to make some big throws later in the season to get the Steelers into the playoffs.
If Rodgers comes back, the plan seems simple. The Steelers know he’s not going to be able to carry an offense by himself. But if they can add more help around him, and get some solid defensive play, maybe Rodgers can make a couple big throws when he needs to and the Steelers will win games. That was the plan last year, and it did work to some extent under Tomlin. But neither of those two facets were consistent enough.
The Steelers need a long-term answer at some point, though, and Jones questions why they didn’t go after Malik Willis, one of the more enticing young players on the market. The Steelers also let Kyler Murray, who Jones wanted them to sign, find a new home without showing interest. Perhaps Will Howard’s presence on the roster makes them less desperate at the position. Either way, the Steelers have seemed content to wait on Rodgers since McCarthy’s opening press conference.
For what it’s worth, they did the same under Tomlin last offseason. While McCarthy’s Steelers didn’t bring in Willis or Murray, Tomlin’s Steelers could have brought in someone like Sam Darnold or Daniel Jones, each of whom had success in 2025.
There were reasons for a lot of the criticism directed at Mike Tomlin at the end of his tenure. But to Jones, the Steelers still making questionable decisions after his departure is a sign that Tomlin may have gotten a little too much heat.
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