When a team doesn’t have a QB1, they’d think hitting free agency or the draft would be a top priority. But if we talk about the Steelers… it’s like they either don’t care about the most important position or they’re trying real hard to pretend they don’t. Everybody expected them to make a splash in free agency, and what did they do? Re-signed Mason Rudolph. Cool for continuity, sure. But solving the long-term QB puzzle? Not even close.

Then came the draft. And with the way Mike Tomlin and the crew were moving, folks really thought Shedeur Sanders might be their guy. I mean, why not? Because let’s be real—Pittsburgh was sitting there, probably staring at their phones, waiting for Aaron Rodgers to text back—but the man might as well have had them on DND.

And when Roger Goodell finally stepped up for the Steelers’ No. 21 pick? Nope, no QB. It was DT Derrick Harmon instead. And that meant only one thing: either the Steelers believe that Rudolph could take the helm as the QB1, or maybe, just maybe—they’re confident that Aaron Rodgers will sign a deal with them.

Sure, the Steelers constantly insisted that Rodgers would not influence their draft strategy. But their draft picks last week tell a different tale. “We did not factor in whether Aaron is coming or not into that,” Steelers’ owner Art Rooney II said of the team’s draft to that point. “If we do draft a quarterback — and we still might — it’s probably not going to be somebody who is going to start for us this year. It’s going to be somebody who is developing and may play down the road.”

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s not somebody who is going to have a big impact (this year) if we draft a quarterback.” See, Rooney had made it clear that the Steelers’ plan to draft a QB wasn’t influenced by Rodgers’ decision to join the team. But the interesting part? Well, this statement came almost a day before they drafted Will Howard in the sixth round. And get this, when Rooney talked about their draft plan for a QB, he wasn’t talking the talk.

Sure, Howard has a national championship, and four years of FBS football on his resume. And oh, along the way he also completed an impressive 73% of his pass attempts at Ohio State. But he still needs some improvement in his processing speed to adapt to NFL defenses. For the same reasons, many NFL mock drafts predicted him to be a sixth round pick. There you go.

The Steelers indeed picked him in the sixth round with the 185th overall pick, who is less like a starting QB and more like a project to them, who will develop behind a veteran until the time’s right. And that suggests only one thing. The Steelers are still in pursuit of Aaron Rodgers as their QB1—unless they believe Mason Rudolph to start in the next season.

At the end of the day, the Steelers kept saying Rodgers wasn’t gonna mess with their draft plans. But let’s be real—when you’re already low-key hoping to sign the guy, you don’t really need him to mess with anything. You’re already playing the waiting game.

Mike Tomlin and Co. are still trying to know Aaron Rodgers

The frustration is still brewing in the Steel City over their quarterback conundrum. And why not? At the beginning of the free agency, Art Rooney II admitted that they were going to pick either Russell Wilson or Justin Fields. Fast forward to now, and not just Wilson and Fields left the Steelers, the team doesn’t even have a potential QB1 on their roster. Why? Because they still want Aaron Rodgers.

If we’re aware of Rodgers’ visit to the facility (sure it’s been over a month), then it was reported that the Steelers’ bosses and coaches discussed the team dynamics and football strategy. At that time, it seemed certain that a one-year deal was on the cards. But here we are. Even the NFL draft is done and dusted, but there’s still no deal.

And when Mike Tomlin stopped by on the Rich Eisen Show, he reiterated the same thing: the franchise had a productive chat with the four-time MVP. Once again. “That’s certainly a possibility,” Tomlin told NFL Network’s Rich Eisen on Saturday. “I’m not going to forecast the ifs and whens regarding not only him but any other potential free agent. We’ve had really productive talks with him, and I’ve enjoyed having productive talks with him and getting to know him.”

Of course, there’s a possibility. I mean, by the time Steelers got the chance to select their first pick of the 2025 NFL draft, only Cam Ward was off the board. And yeah, Shedeur Sanders was still waiting to hear his name called. But Pittsburgh selected Derrick Harmon. Fast forward to day 2, and the Steelers now had 83rd overall pick. And only Ward, Jaxson Dart and Tyler Shough were drafted.

This time, they selected Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson. A few picks later, Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe was also off the board when Seattle selected him. And yeah, Shedeur was still remaining. But they passed on him in the fourth and fifth round as well before drafting Howard in the sixth round. If we round all that up, it’s not a big deal to guess that Mike Tomlin and Co. are still interested in signing Aaron Rodgers.

Long story short: the Steelers may pick their franchise QB in the 2026 NFL draft on their home soil. Plain and simple.