The quarterback position has held the Pittsburgh Steelers back for the past few years. Ben Roethlisberger was a constant for almost 20 years, but the Steelers have struggled to find his replacement. That’s been even more of an issue because two of their division rivals have some of the league’s best signal callers. NFL.com writer Nick Shook recently ranked each division based on its quarterback talent, and the AFC North landed at fifth best.
“After the rest of the division finishes thanking the Browns for trading Myles Garrett to Los Angeles, they can immediately pivot toward criticizing Cleveland for bogging down the division’s ranking in this exercise,” Shook wrote recently on NFL.com. “Look at the rest of the AFC North’s quarterbacks: two-time MVP Lamar Jackson, perennial MVP contender Joe Burrow and four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers, who was good enough at 42 to agree to run it back with the Steelers in 2026.
“The upper half of the division is incredibly strong, and while Rodgers is now average — at best — he’s still significantly ahead of what Cleveland is rolling out.”
No matter how ugly Pittsburgh’s quarterback play has been at times in recent years, it could always be worse. The Browns have a mess at the position this year, even by their standards.
It looks like their starting quarterback to begin 2026 will be either second-year player Shedeur Sanders or veteran Deshaun Watson. Neither looks like a particularly appealing option. Sanders made the Pro Bowl as a rookie, but he also threw seven touchdown passes and 10 interceptions.
Meanwhile, Watson is coming off a brutal Achilles injury that forced him to miss the entire 2025 season. He wasn’t very impressive before that, either. Once upon a time, Watson looked like one of the best young quarterbacks in the league. However, that was a long time ago. He hasn’t played at a decent level since 2020.
The Steelers’ quarterback situation looks leagues better than that. Yes, Rodgers isn’t the same player he once was, but he can still help a team win games. He was good enough last year for the Steelers to win the AFC North.
That was with Jackson and Burrow dealing with injuries, though. They’re not only the cream of the quarterback crop in the AFC North but also in the NFL. Both of them are true difference makers.
Shook has the NFC North right above the AFC North at fourth, the NFC East at third, the AFC West at second, and the NFC West at No. 1. It’s tough to argue that the Steelers’ division should be higher, especially with the Browns’ mess still in place.
Perhaps the AFC North will rise next year if the Steelers can find their next franchise quarterback. Rodgers plans on retiring after this season, so they’ll need a new starter under center. Hopefully, they trend more in the direction of the Ravens and Bengals than the Browns.
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