While their preference would be to re-sign either Justin Fields or Russell Wilson, the Steelers may consider signing four-time league MVP and future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers to help stabilize their quarterback position.
Bill Cowher, the Steelers’ former Hall of Fame coach, thinks that the team’s brass will have dialogue regarding Rodgers, if they haven’t already. Rodgers is free to begin speaking with teams after the Jets publicly announced their intentions to part ways with him.
“I think there’s going to be a sense of urgency,” Cowher said on The Dan Patrick Show, via the Tribune-Review. “Taking some guys on the back end of their careers. T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward. They’re in the latter stages of their careers. So they want to win now.
“That’s a big part of what they want to do, but you’ve also got to have a plan moving forward and at that position. There will be dialogue there, but those will be conversations taking place in that building.”
Cowher also alluded to Fields and Wilson, who combined to lead the Steelers to a 10-7 record last season. Fields helped lead Pittsburgh to a 4-2 start, while Wilson won six of his first seven starts after replacing Fields in the starting lineup. At that point, it appeared like a foregone conclusion that the Steelers would re-sign Wilson — whose 414 passing yards in Pittsburgh’s Week 13 win over the Bengals marked the second-highest single-game total for his career — this offseason.
But Wilson and the Steelers struggled after that, as Pittsburgh lost its final five games that included an ugly, 28-14 loss to the Ravens in the wild-card round. Wilson’s regression during that span has led to continued instability at the quarterback position for Pittsburgh, who is still searching for Ben Roethlisberger’s longterm successor.
“I don’t know where they are right now in terms of their quarterback situation with Russell and Justin,” Cowher said. “I think a decision has to be made: ‘What’s the future plan, and what is the plan in the interim?'”
Per Steelers president Art Rooney II, the Steelers’ preference is to re-sign either Fields or Wilson. Fields appears to be the better option of the two, given his age (he’ll be 26 in March), how well he played last year and his continued untapped potential. But re-signing Fields isn’t a sure thing. The Steelers will need to make him a relatively generous offer that would compel him to re-sign instead of testing the market for the first time in his career.
This is where Rodgers comes into play. If the Steelers don’t re-sign Fields, Rodgers could become a possibility, assuming that he hasn’t already found a new team. While his age (41) prevents him from being a longterm solution in Pittsburgh, the Steelers could try to squeeze out whatever football is left in the future Hall of Famer.
While the 2024 Jets woefully underperformed, Rodgers was actually pretty good, at least from a statistical standpoint. Rodgers finished the season eighth in the NFL in passing yards and touchdown passes. His 11 interceptions matched the total thrown by Patrick Mahomes and Jordan Love, his successor in Green Bay.
Unlike many pundits, Cowher feels that Rodgers still has some good football left in him. Cowher also alluded to the fact that Rodgers will surely be motivated to play well after the Jets decided to go in a different direction.
“I think he wants to play,” Cowher said. “I think there’s going to be a place for him, somewhere. He’s going to go to his dark place. He’s going to come out. You never know where Aaron’s coming from. But I think if he puts his mind to it, he can still throw it. He can still move around fine.
“It’s got to be the right place for him. The right situation. I just don’t think he’s going to want to feel like he got run out this year from the New York Jets. I just don’t think he wants to go out on that note. So I’m going to say — somewhere — he’s going to land.”
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Author: Bryan DeArdo
February 16, 2025 | 1:05 pm
