The last few seasons have felt the same for the Pittsburgh Steelers. They’ve finished 10-7 and lost in the first round of the playoffs in each of the last three years. It feels like the Steelers are stuck. With Mike Tomlin stepping down after the 2025 season, some fans advocated for the team to hit the reset button. However, former Steelers corner Bryant McFadden explained why Pittsburgh shouldn’t be rebuilding.

“No,” McFadden said Monday on CBS Sports HQ. “Rebuild? I’m sorry to hit them with a stray, but it’s not like we’re talking about the New York Jets. We’re talking about the Pittsburgh Steelers. They won the AFC North a year ago.

“They won the AFC North with a 42-year-old quarterback. I understand, you lose a guy like Mike Tomlin, there is a turnover that is going to happen, but in terms of rebooting and starting a rebuild, no. There is no need for that because you still have key major pieces in place… This is more a retool, in my opinion.”

The Steelers aren’t one of the worst teams in the league. They haven’t even had a losing season since 2003. Some teams, like the Jets, would kill for that kind of consistency, even if it meant being stuck in a playoff win drought.

However, the Steelers are held to a higher standard. Just making the playoffs isn’t good enough, and even winning a playoff game likely wouldn’t placate many fans. The Steelers are expected to compete for championships.

While that can be a double-edged sword, it’s part of their identity. Art Rooney II said that he doesn’t like rebuilding. Despite their postseason struggles in recent years, the Steelers still hold a certain prestige. They aren’t going to make drastic changes now, especially after hiring a veteran coach like Mike McCarthy.

Rebuilding is easier said than done, too. Teams like the Jets and Cleveland Browns have been rebuilding for years, yet they remain among the NFL’s worst. Being bad for a year or two won’t magically fix the Steelers.

Should they take a different approach to roster building? That’s a better question to ask. The Steelers have been plugging in veterans past their prime at their quarterback spot in recent years, and that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Still, Pittsburgh is interested in re-signing Aaron Rodgers.

Was Rodgers terrible last season? No. Does he drastically raise the Steelers’ ceiling if he returns, though? Probably not. Maybe they’ll win a playoff game with Rodgers, but what happens next year? The Steelers can’t keep putting a Band-Aid on their quarterback position. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they need to rebuild, but they aren’t as close to a Super Bowl as McFadden makes it seem.