Suddenly there is tons of smoke regarding the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the top names at quarterback in this draft. The likelihood of the Steelers drafting one in the first round has gone up dramatically through the offseason process. Could the Steelers interest in these quarterbacks be due to growing concerns over the Aaron Rodgers situation?
Today is a big day in the Aaron Rodgers saga. It’s long been the theory that Rodgers has waited up until now to announce his signing with the Steelers on the Pat MacAfee’s “Big night aht” show in Pittsburgh tonight. https://www.wtae.com/article/pat-mcafee-pittsburgh-tickets-big-night-aht/64350896
If the Rodgers announcement does not come tonight, the concern level goes up dramatically. But the Steelers would already know if this announcement was coming in theory. Maybe they do, and the answer isn’t what we all hope. That would be as good a reason as any for the sudden uptick in the Steelers interest in the top names of college quarterbacks.
Perhaps it’s no coincidence that Shedeur Sanders was announced as one of the Steelers top 30 visits just 24 hours before the big MacAfee show. He will be the third, and possibly not the last to visit Pittsburgh. So far Tyler Shough and Jaxson Dart are also on the top 30 list. Add that to all the time the Steelers have spent with Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, and one starts to wonder. This team hasn’t done this much work on quarterbacks since the 2022 offseason. That of course led to the Kenny Pickett selection in that draft. Top seven contenders to be the Steelers quarterback in 2025
Now, the Steelers could have been planning on doing this work on the quarterbacks all along. Maybe they are just doing a practice run for the 2026 draft. Maybe the plan is to draft a quarterback, and have him sit for a year behind Aaron Rodgers. But what if panic is setting in behind the scenes? What if Omar Khan and company are losing faith in ever getting Rodgers signed at all?
We have to at least consider at this point that Aaron Rodgers may not sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers. It is April 9th, and we are nearly two weeks from the NFL draft. If you are Omar Khan you can no longer just assume Aaron Rodgers is the guy, there needs to be a contingency plan. That plan may very well be ramping up their work on the top quarterbacks in this draft. Pittsburgh has no options left in free agency. Their only other option is to draft a quarterback in the first round, despite this being considered a weak draft at that position. Omar Khan has backed himself into a corner with this whole Aaron Rodgers situation, this may be his only way out.