Steelers 2026 QB Targets: Veteran QB Options PIT May Consider REPLACING Aaron Rodgers With Next Year

Steelers 2026 QB Targets: Veteran QB Options PIT May Consider REPLACING Aaron Rodgers With Next Year

Welcome in to Steelers Talk. I’m your host, Jax Sperry. Today we’re going to be going over Pittsburgh’s options at the quarterback position if they’re going to have to replace Aaron Rodgers in 2026. Whether Rogers retires or whether Rogers falls off a cliff here in the second half of the 2025 season, um you in either one of those scenarios, the Steelers are going to be looking for a new quarterback next year. So today we’re going to be breaking down some of the options that could be available in the 2026 offseason and which guys would potentially fit and who probably wouldn’t fit. Uh we got a lot of options to talk about on today’s show, guys. So kick us off down there in the comment section by letting us know what is the percent chance that Aaron Rogers is the Steelers starting quarterback next year. Put it on a scale of zero, meaning no chance he comes back next year. um you know he’s absolutely done after this season to 100% meaning he is definitely coming back for another season. Let me know what you guys think down there in the comments section. Now before I start with the potential replacements for Aaron Rodgers, I do want to make abundantly clear that I am still very open to Aaron Rodgers returning in 2026. Just because we’re talking about potential replacements today doesn’t mean that if Aaron Rogers plays really well down the stretch and you know he wants to come back for another season that I would say no to that. you know, if he plays, you know, if he plays the way that he has played for a majority of this season, not the way he played against the Chargers, but um, you know, if he continues to play some good football down the stretch, this he makes the playoffs and, you know, you know, he he finishes this season strong, I’m absolutely open to him returning as this team’s starting quarterback in 2026. But with that said, I think we do have to acknowledge that it’s still very possible that Pittsburgh will be looking for a new starting quarterback next year. Whether that’s Aaron Rogers retiring at the end of the year, which he has alluded to a number of times, or whether that’s he just plays poorly down the stretch and, you know, maybe, you know, old age is catching up to him and he’s just not a good player anymore. In those two cases, the Steelers will be looking for a new quarterback. So, I think it’s worth the discussion to see who could potentially be out there during the 2026 off seasonason. Now, the big question at the end of the 2025 campaign that the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to have to kind of answer, and this is going to affect a lot of things. This is going to affect Mike Tomlin’s future with the team. This will affect who they get at quarterback. This will affect whether or not they consider trading TJ Watt, Cam Hayward, and a lot of the older veterans on this team. Are the Steelers going to try and continue to try and win Super Bowls in the present heading into 2026, or will they embrace a rebuild and take a step backwards as an organization to draft younger players and kind of uh embrace a new day of Pittsburgh Steeler football? Um, and that’s going to be an interesting question to see what they uh what the answer to that question is going to end up being. I think a lot of things are going to go into that decision where the Steelers finish in terms of uh their record and how successful they are in the post in the postseason if they even make the postseason. And you know, I think that if they want to win now, and I think if that’s the answer to that question, which is honestly pretty likely, Cam Hayward only has one year left on his uh contract and he’s likely to retire after the 2026 campaign. My guess is the Pittsburgh Steelers, at least for one more season, will in fact try to win. now. And if that’s the case, and Aaron Rogers is not going to be that answer, they’re going to need another veteran starting quarterback. All right, so we got some options to discuss here. First one is a very familiar name that we talked about this off season, and that’s Matthew Stafford. Okay, and I think you know what was crazy was I remember doing polls on this channel saying, “Would you uh rather have Matthew Stafford or Justin Fields as the starting quarterback of the Steelers?” And like 65% of Steelers fans said Justin Fields, which is nuts to me. But Stafford is one of those guys that has been on a year-to-year kind of situation with his current team with the Los Angeles Rams. And the Rams seriously considered letting him go this off seasonason. Apparently, they were very close to trading him to the Las Vegas Raiders. Um, just because, you know, they’ve been kind of in a year-to-year situation with his contract and he continuously wants to get paid like top 10, top five caliber quarterback money. And you know, it certainly seems like next off seasonason, especially if Stafford doesn’t play quite as well down the stretch, it could be a possibility that they don’t give him another one-year extension uh next off seasonason and they could look to trade him to a team like the Pittsburgh Steelers that could potentially be looking for one last ride for Cam Hayward. And listen, man, Stafford would be kind of that next evolution of the veteran quarterback option here in Pittsburgh, right? You start with Russell Wilson, then you upgrade to Aaron Rogers. And I think we’ll all, you know, kind of say Rogers has been better than Russ so far this season. And I think Stafford would be an even higher step up from where Rogers is this year. Stafford still arguably playing at a top five quarterback level. Um even though he himself is getting older. Um so if you can land him, you know, this would be kind of the next iteration and and the next step up in the Pittsburgh Steelers search for that veteran quarterback uh to get this team potentially into Super Bowl contention. Uh, so certainly Matthew Stafford, if he’s available and you’re not bringing back Rogers, I would be highly interested in bringing in Stafford. But then Daniel Jones is still slated to be a free agent next off seasonason. Now, I highly doubt he gets to free agency. Okay. Uh, the Colts just traded two first round picks in exchange for Sas Gardner. So, I would say I would fully expect the Indianapolis Colts at some point to come to some sort of agreement with Daniel Jones to be their next franchise quarterback and to give him a two, threeyear extension. um especially over the course of those two uh first round picks that the Colts won’t have an opportunity really to draft a future uh rookie quarterback with. Right. So, I think that Daniel Jones will be in Indianapolis for probably this year as well as at least the next two years, barring some unforeseen disaster from him. Um but, you know, technically he is slated to be a free agent at the time of me recording this video, so we at least have to talk about him. Um, but certainly he is a he’s probably a game manager type of quarterback that the Steelers would probably consider paying uh if if he ends up hitting the open market. But then going back to the trade market here, Kyler Murray has been a popular name among some Steelers fans as a potential option uh dealing with injuries this year. Uh some people are kind of theorizing that he’s getting softbenched by Jacobe Brassette there in Arizona this season uh because the Cardinals want to keep him healthy enough to be able to trade him next off seasonason. I certainly think that’s a possibility. Uh Kyler has not been super productive over the last several years under the Jonathan Ganon regime, but former MVP candidate. He’s still pretty darn young and he does have a lot of talent. Um, so if the Steelers are looking for somebody, you know, to kind of bring on as a reclamation project as a former high-end starter in this league that still has a lot of talent, um, you know, I don’t know how, you know, his little body would hold up in the AFC North necessarily, but, uh, it certainly would be an interesting one there if the Pittsburgh Steelersh can pull something off for Kyler Murray. Another guy that they could consider is Gino Smith. Now, Gino has has just fallen off a cliff this year in Las Vegas. But, you know, the Gino stands out there would say, “Well, that’s because the Raiders are are are terrible. They haven’t had Brock Bowers for most of the season. The defense is terrible. So, they’re constantly having to throw the football in the second half. The run game hasn’t been great. The pass protection’s been bad. The weapons aren’t good. And Gino Smith being a very aggressive quarterback has been, you know, putting the ball in harm’s way pretty much out of desperation. Now, you know, I think that Gino has certainly regressed from where he was in his Seattle days. There are some years there in Seattle where he was pretty darn good and maybe in a better situation like in Pittsburgh. U you know, he maybe he could, you know, find another uh life in the National Football League as a starter. He’d probably come cheap in a trade for somebody that’s a big body with a big arm. Lots of big plays on his film over the last several years. It’s at least a name to consider. And then Tua Tong of Ailoa is another name that could be out there in the trade market. But personally guys, I’m not the biggest fan of the Tua tongue of Ailoa idea, especially when it comes to an AFC North team because I just don’t know if he can play in cold weather. And you know, once the weather once the schedule turns to November, gets pretty cold in this division, man. It gets pretty cold in Pittsburgh. So, I just don’t have any trust whatsoever in Tua Tong of Aloa to play in the cold. Um, you know, he’s he’s had opportunities to play in cold weather games throughout his career and he he’s had some of the worst games of his career in those kinds of conditions. He doesn’t have a strong arm. So, when it’s windy outside, he’s not going to be able to cut through it. Um, and he’s really a player that is very dependent on the scheme itself. All right? If you don’t have an elite scheme with elite players around him, he’s not going to be somebody that’s very effective for you. So, for me, even though Tuan Tangoa, very productive player throughout his time, especially during uh the Mike McDaniel era, they’re in Miami. I just don’t think it’s a fit here with the Pittsburgh Steelers. So, what’s the best way forward? Let me know what you guys think down there in the comments section. What should the Pittsburgh Steelers do next year? Should they try and continue to win now? Type W for win now. Or do you think they should embrace a full-scale rebuild and take a step backwards so that they can take two steps forward uh in the near future? Type R for rebuild or W for win now. This will be the pin comment on today’s show. So, in just a second here, I’m going to let you guys know about a great piece of Steelers apparel that you guys can get in your closet today. But while I tell you about that opportunity, make sure you answer today’s pin question down there in the comments. And if you guys want the limited edition Steelers Salute to Service Hoodie, officially licensed by the National Football League, you guys can use our link chatports.com/pits salute25 to get it in your closet today, especially if there’s somebody in your life that uh loves the Steelers that you’re looking for a great Christmas present for. Um, this is a great uh uh item to go get here because I really like the army green color this year, guys. you know, usually they they really go heavy camo and I just don’t know how versatile camo is um you know, year round necessarily in in a bunch of different situations, but I think this army green can be worn in any situation. Um also, you got that awesome American uh flag patch uh there on the right sleeve. You got the Steelers patch on the chest. It’s just very minimal looking. Uh which I really appreciate, guys. So, if you uh like the style of this hoodie, you want to get it today, go to chatports.com/pitsolute25 to get it in your closet today. All right, so now let’s talk about some quote unquote reh rehab quarterback options for the Steelers because there’s certainly been some quarterbacks over the last several years that were kind of left for dead. You know, people kind of labeled as busts and then they turned out to be really good starting quarterbacks when you put them in the right situation. Just a couple off the top of the head there. Sam Darnold, obviously with the Minnesota Vikings and now with the Seattle Seahawks. Sam’s arguably a top 10 quarterback in the league right now. He’s playing almost at an MVP level. He’s playing unbelievable football. Daniel Jones was left for dead in New York. Then he goes to a better situation in in in Indie and all of a sudden he looks like, you know, a legitimate franchise quarterback. And there’s a lot of different examples out there, especially recently. Baker Mayfield left for dead. All right. Was considered a backup level quarterback and now he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the league playing for Tampa Bay. So, there’s a lot of these guys out there, former first round picks and, you know, high draft picks that just haven’t worked out uh that in the right situation could really work out with a new team. And you know, I I think that the top guys in this category, Trevor Lawrence, uh hasn’t had the best season to this point, and if things really hit the skids in Jacksonville, he’s got a very tradable contract. And if Liam Cohen wants to go get quote unquote his guy in the draft next year, and you want to get a pretty high draft pick for Trevor Lawrence, uh Lawrence certainly has the body and the and the and the arm strength to be able to play in the AFC North. That would be one that I’m highly interested in if he’s available. M. Jones probably less so. He’s playing good ball with San Francisco, but he doesn’t have the strongest arm in the world. Um, you know, he plays well in Shanahan style offenses, so maybe that would be a fit uh with Arthur Smith. But, uh, personally, he’s not my favorite option. Justin Fields, we know Mike Tomlin and Arthur Smith like Justin Fields, but um, you know, he’s had a number of opportunities in this league, man. He’s just never made it work. Bryce Young, another guy that’s kind of smaller, not the biggest arm. Not sure if he’s a great fit for AFC North football, but he’s a former number one overall pick and Carolina could be looking to move off of him this off seasonason. Then Tyler Shuck, I mean, if the Saints have like the number one or number two pick and they can take Tai Simpson or Fernando Mendoza or one of these guys, uh Tyler Shuck is a guy that I know Arthur Smith was high on in this year’s NFL draft. He played very well last week. If he continues to play well down the stretch, um and you know, it’s certainly possible that the Steelers could be in on him as well, even though I would say that one is probably less likely. Uh, but another option that the Steelers could do next off seasonason is that they could bring in a bridge quarterback and then bring in a younger quarterback to learn from that bridge QB. Um, and you know, this is something that most NFL teams do when they plan to draft a quarterback. Some of the bridge options out there, one of them is currently on the team. Mason Rudolph uh still has another year with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He signed a two-year contract. So, honestly, that might be my preferred option just because, you know, he’s already on the team. and we’ve seen Rudolph, you know, do some good things with this team as the starting quarterback. Um, so as a mentor to a younger player, I would have no problem with Rudolph playing that role. But Jacobe Brassette is playing some good football for the most part in Arizona uh this year. He doesn’t turn the ball over, has a big arm. Uh he’s system quarterback that if you scheme things up for him, he can he can hit open windows. Uh Joe Flacco is another guy that, you know, he would complete the cycle for uh the AFC North. He’d play for every single AFC North team. We know Mike Tomlin has a lot of respect for him. If he comes back for another season, he could be a bridge option for this team. Trod Taylor, another guy that protects the football. Big play big play kind of guy. Um, you know, can run around a little bit. Getting older though. And then Jimmy Garopppolo, somebody that’s played in Shanahan style offenses quite a bit in his career. Could certainly be a bridge option for somebody next year. Uh, but you know, when it comes to the young quarterback options that you can pair with that bridge guy, you could look at three different options in my opinion. You could stick with Will Howard, who you drafted last year and the team really likes, or you could go with a rehab quarterback, you know, somebody that’s been cast aside, somebody that can learn from a veteran, but maybe can be your future, or you could draft a quarterback in the early rounds of the NFL draft. And, you know, we’ll start with the first option there with Will Howard. As much as I like Will, I just don’t know if Pittsburgh should necessarily bank on a sixth round pick being their franchise quarterback of the future. Um, I know a lot of people like Will, especially because guys like John Gruden have hyped him up saying he’s like the next Josh Allen and all this stuff, but like he’s not going to be Josh Allen, guys. He just he just doesn’t have the dynamic playmaking ability. Uh, he’s not as good of a rusher as Josh Allen is. Um, all those different things. And you know, I think the reality of the situation when we’re looking at the AFC conference is that if we want this Pittsburgh Steelers team to be perennially in the Super Bowl hunt, all right, you’re going to have to get one of these superstar level quarterbacks, especially once they get to that second contract because the because the one-way ticket to purgatory is you draft a quarterback that’s good but isn’t great and you pay that good quarterback elite level money and then you don’t have any money to surround that good quarterback with the surrounding cast that they need in order to compete for Super Bowls. But teams like Kansas City, Buffalo, Baltimore, all right, these teams with legitimate superstar quarterbacks that are continuously in the hunt for Super Bowls, um, you know, those are the guys with with the elite quarterbacks. And the Steelers have to do their very best to try and get one of those, uh, types of guys as their next franchise quarterback if they want to get on that level, which I think we all uh, want for this team. And when I look at Will Howard, you know, even though he was a six-round pick, I do think he has potent starter potential. Okay, I think that he has the potential to be someone like of the ilk of a Derek Carr. Now, I think he’d be more athletic than Derek Carr is, but you know, both have strong arms, both have good deep balls, but neither of them are are necessarily special in the mental processing department um or the accuracy comp department to be quite honest with you. And um you know, if Derek Carr, you know, there’s nothing wrong with Derek Carr. Derek Carr was a fine starting quarterback in this league for a long time, but he never won a playoff game playing inside the AFC for the Raiders for many years and never won one with New Orleans either for a reason. It’s because he’s a limited quarterback and that’s what I think the upside for Will Howard is. Um, so I’m just not sure if I want to bank on that upside, especially in this conference with so many superstar QB talents to compete with. But some of the other rehab quarterback options that you could consider, I’m I’m honestly not the biggest fan of bringing any of these guys in because they’re such long shots at this point. But, you know, these are guys with some level of talent. You know, whether they are first round picks, second round picks, a lot of them have good arm talent. They can move. You know, they’ve still got some level of physical talent left in them. So, if you wanted to bring them in, um, you could think about it. But honestly, guys, I think if you’re bringing in a younger quarterback, I would want to draft a quarterback. back in the early rounds of the NFL draft and draft your guy of the future that this coaching staff falls in love with as their guy. And there’s a lot of interesting options that are going to probably come out in next year’s NFL draft. All right, the top the top three definitely right now are Tai Simpson, Fernando Mendoza, and Dante Moore. You’re probably going to have to trade up for one of those guys if you want them because they’re probably going to be going in the top eight of the draft this year. Lenora Sers is a very intriguing option. Will he go back to school? Will he come out? Um, and could he be available for the Steelers to go get? Brendan Sorsby from Cincinnati is a name you guys should be watching out for. Darien Mensah, another guy you should be watching out for out of Duke. Jordan Mayavas had a very productive season with USC this year. John Matir, not sure if he’s going to come out either, but he’s very uh intriguing as a developmental type of quarterback prospect. Sam Levit probably doesn’t come out this year after getting injured this season. He’ll probably go back to school as a red shirt sophomore. Um, you know, I I but he’s a very intriguing physical talent if he does come out. And Carson Beck, not my favorite option there, but a lot of people uh like the mental processing on him. Uh, so just some names to keep your eye on there. But my preferred strategy, guys, at the quarterback position next year, is that I want to have it set up so that this team has an established number one veteran quarterback that’s not going anywhere. Okay, they’re going to be your starter next year, but then you draft a young quarterback that can develop behind that quarterback. Whether that’s trading for Matthew Stafford and then drafting a quarterback, whether that’s bringing back Aaron Rogers and drafting a quarterback, um, whatever the case is, uh, with that situation, I would rather have an established veteran QB1, um, that’s a little bit on the older side, you know, on a one-year deal, and then you have that young quarterback to learn from that veteran quarterback for an entire season, and then that quarterback takes the reigns as the starting quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers at the start of the 2027 campaign. That’s my preferred strategy. But now it’s your turn. What say you guys? What is your ideal QB1 and QB2 duo here in Pittsburgh for next year? Let me know what you guys think down there in the comments section. For me, I would probably say Matthew Stafford and Tai Simpson. That would be my ideal setup. How likely that setup is probably not vary, but that would probably be my ideal setup that is at least somewhat realistic for the Pittsburgh Steelers. But let me know what you guys think down there in the comments section. That’ll be it for today’s edition of Steelers Talk by Chat Sports. Thank you guys so much for talking some uh quarterbacks here with me today. Make sure you click that subscribe button if you haven’t already for more extensive Steelers coverage all throughout the 2025 season.

Steelers news and rumors: The Pittsburgh Steelers may be looking for a new quarterback next season if Aaron Rodgers does not come back next year. The Steelers have had a different QB under center for the past 3 years, will 2026 make it 4 in a row? Steelers Talk by Chat Sports with Jack Sperry breaks down who the Pittsburgh Steelers could be targeting for the 2026 NFL season.

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Put your Steelers knowledge to the test by giving us your take on today’s slate of Steelers questions:
– Percent chance Aaron Rodgers is the Steelers QB1 next season? Scale of 0-100
– What should PIT do in 2026? Type ‘W’ for ‘Win-Now’ or ‘R’ for Rebuild
– What is your ideal QB1 & QB2 duo for next year?

More 2025 NFL talk from Sperry can be found on social media! Hit him up on X: https://x.com/jack_sperry

QB Aaron Rodgers 2025 stats:
– 66.8 CMP%
– 1,853 YDS
– 18 TD
– 7 INT

We’ve got more Pittsburgh Steelers content every day here at Steelers Talk. He’s some of our latest hits:
– 🚨BREAKING🚨: Steelers SIGN Free Agent CB Asante Samuel Jr. To The Practice Squad | Instant Reaction – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlGKBLTyrwE
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Jack Sperry’s 2026 QB Targets:
– Matthew Stafford
– Daniel Jones
– Geno Smith
– Kyler Murray
– Tua Tagovailoa
– Trevor Lawrence
– Mac Jones
– Justin Fields
– Bryce Young
– Tyler Shough
– Mason Rudolph
– Jacoby Brissett
– Joe Flacco
– Tyrod Taylor
– Jimmy Garoppolo

Will the Steelers try to embrace their ‘win now’ culture by signing yet another veteran QB? Jack Sperry believes that the Steelers may be content with getting a solid veteran option to keep the team competitive in a very difficult AFC. The top pick for him is current Rams QB Matthew Stafford as Stafford would be the ‘next evolution’ of the veteran quarterback for the Steelers.

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