Whether Aaron Rodgers comes to the Pittsburgh Steelers or not, it’s hard to deny that the team has no clear long-term answer under center. After years and years of quarterback stability with Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers have struggled to find the right QB to lead the team.
With that kind of conundrum in the most important position in football — if not in all of sports — the Steelers might have to tank in the 2025 NFL season for a shot at finding the next franchise quarterback in the 2026 NFL draft, according to former Pittsburgh defensive back Ryan Clark.
However, Clark also acknowledged that such a path is not in the identity of the Steelers, who have not finished under .500 in a season during the Mike Tomlin era.
“They should want to lose,” Clark said on ESPN’s Get Up (h/t Chris Ward of Steelers Now). “I know this goes against everything that’s black and yellow. But they’ve been a competitive team for the entire time that Mike Tomlin has been there. But since Ben Roethlisberger got to like the last two or three years of his career, they were not a championship contender.”
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ search for a long-time QB continues
For now, the Steelers have a quarterback room filled with uninspiring names in Mason Rudolph, Skylar Thompson and Will Howard, who was taken by the team in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL draft. Since 2013, the Steelers have taken six quarterbacks from the draft, including Howard, Kenny Pickett, Rudolph and Joshua Dobbs.
The Steelers can also see what exactly they have in Howard, who has championship genes, having led the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2025 College Football Playoff national title.
