Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, Sep. 17, 2023, in Houston. (AP Photo/Tyler Kaufman)
Ian Connor of Sports Illustrated floated a wild trade scenario recently, suggesting that the Pittsburgh Steelers should trade for Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud if Aaron Rodgers decides not to return.
“If Aaron Rodgers decides not to come back to Pittsburgh. You have a Steelers team with a late first-round draft pick, and this perpetual issue of not being good enough to trade up for a top-flight rookie,” Orr said Tuesday on his MMQB podcast. “If you’re the Steelers, and Mike McCarthy, is that the phone call that you make? Where, C.J. Stroud is a classic drop-back passer, with just enough athleticism sprinkled in there that could make it work for me. I’m like, man, that’s the team where I’m like, I wonder if they do it.”
The Steelers don’t have many ideal options at quarterback heading into 2026, but a trade for Stroud certainly would turn heads. Stroud has some upside but he was brutal in the playoffs this past season. Stroud fumbled the ball five times, losing two, against the Steelers in the Wild Card Round win. He also threw an interception against the Steelers. And then in the Divisional Round loss to the New England Patriots, he completed 42.6% of his passes and threw a whopping four interceptions.
McCarthy has a long history of developing quarterbacks, however, most notably with Rodgers. So perhaps McCarthy would help fix some of Stroud’s technical issues. Among what’s available, Stroud would be the best option at quarterback for the Steelers, but it seems very unlikely that Houston would part ways with him.
In his first three seasons in the NFL, Stroud has completed 63.8% of his passes for 10,876 yards with 62 touchdowns, 25 interceptions, and a passer rating of 93.5. Overall, Stroud has regressed since his breakout rookie season.
ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler dropped the latest on Rodgers‘ timeline to let the Steelers know whether he’s returning or not in 2026. It turns out, the Steelers could be waiting for quite some time like last year, when the four-time NFL MVP didn’t sign with the Steelers until June 5.
“I just checked on this. The Steelers remain open to a potential Aaron Rodgers reunion, but they gotta figure it out if he wants to play or not yet. That could take months, as you pointed out,” Fowler said Thursday morning on ESPN’s Get Up.
Mentioned In This Article: Aaron Rodgers C.J. Stroud Houston Texans Mike McCarthy Pittsburgh Steelers Steelers Steelers News