The Pittsburgh Steelers are still searching for their true successor to Ben Roethlisberger at the quarterback position. Roethlisberger retired after the 2021 season, and as of this writing, they don’t even know who will start in 2025. They hope it’s Aaron Rodgers, but they started the offseason trying to re-sign Justin Fields.
Roethlisberger knows none of these, however, are the Steelers’ ideal solution. While they tried the draft with Kenny Pickett in 2022, they entered that season with Mitch Trubisky starting. Pickett opened the 2023 season, but last year, they had Russell Wilson, and now—they hope—Rodgers. Where does this all lead?
“It’d be great for them to get their guy in the draft. A first- or second-round pick that you want to be your future. Because then you let them grow up with the linemen, with the receivers, with Pat Freiermuth”, Roethlisberger on his Footbahlin’ podcast said of the Steelers’ future at the quarterback position.
He did acknowledge that the 2025 NFL Draft in particular is not ideally suited for that purpose. The Steelers draft 21st overall, and Roethlisberger hinted at this being a weak quarterback class. “If the draft class was deep in quarterbacks this year and you could get a guy, jump all over it”, he said—only it’s not.
Why the rookie over the veteran plug-in? He cited the opportunity for the quarterback to grow with the rest of the offense. And Roethlisberger also referred specifically to where the Steelers are now. They have a generally young offense, with Pat Freiermuth and newly-acquired WR DK Metcalf the elder statesmen. Outside of Isaac Seumalo, the offensive line is young.
“Let them all come up together. That’s more valuable than trying to plug and older guy in there”, he said of the Steelers’ offense. “Like, ‘Okay, he’s here for a year or two’. Let it be our guy. That’s why I think it would be so valuable for them to get a quarterback this year—next year at worst-case scenario”.
Like Roethlisberger, many Steelers fans, and perhaps the Steelers themselves, have their eyes set on the 2026 NFL Draft. GM Omar Khan hinted at working the compensatory formula to gain more picks next year, though perhaps not directly with landing a franchise quarterback in mind.
Generally speaking, the expectation is next year’s quarterback class will be stronger than this one. Though he isn’t guaranteed to declare for the draft, Arch Manning is one notable name people are mentioning. But it’s hard to imagine it being a weaker class than 2022, when the Steelers drafted Pickett.
Of course, the ideal solution is always to build through the draft. But there are never enough picks to assemble a full roster before your players start to retire, and nobody is going to have a perfect hit record. The Steelers were fortunate to land Ben Roethlisberger back in 2004, and older fans know how long it took to find him. We’re going into Year 4 since his retirement, and the frustration is already mounting. It’s fair to wonder how many more years it will be until they land their next long-term answer. But it’s understandable that so many feel they have to take a swing in the draft in 2026.
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