The Pittsburgh Steelers are still awaiting a decision from 42-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers as the NFL’s new league year enters a second week.
GM Omar Khan stated during the NFL’s Scouting Combine in Indianapolis that he didn’t anticipate things dragging out with Rodgers like last season, but here the Steelers are waiting around once again.
It’s led to plenty of frustration for media members and many in the fan base, but the Steelers seem content with waiting.
For NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah though, Pittsburgh should pivot and look to another veteran quarterback to give the aging core on the roster a chance to truly compete in what Jeremiah is calling a two-year window.
Appearing on the Football America podcast with Dave Dameshek, Jeremiah made the case for a non-Rodgers quarterback.
“Where the roster is now … that points me towards Kirk Cousins as the best option there, and I think you can get a nice, little two-year window,” Jeremiah said on the Football America podcast. “Because when you bring back T.J. Watt, when you bring back [Cam] Heyward, that’s not…’hey guys, we’re going to fool around and see if we can experiment with this JJ McCarthy thing, see if this hits for us here.’ Once you’ve made that decision to kind of run with those guys…this feels like this is kind of a decision for the last of this ride of this group, and then we’ll go on and try to find the next one.
“…I would take Kirk Cousins over Aaron Rodgers.”
At 42 years old and entering his age 43 season, it’s fair to question what Rodgers has left at this point. The last time we saw him, he threw a pick-6 in the AFC Wild Card blowout loss to the Houston Texans, and looked like a quarterback that didn’t want to be hit. Now, the Steelers have serious questions on the left side of the offensive line. Will he want to come back and deal with that? Should the Steelers even want him back?
New head coach Mike McCarthy has stated multiple times that he wants Rodgers back. Khan and the Steelers have said they are leaving the door open for Rodgers. But the smart thing to do would be to pivot and go elsewhere.
Cousins makes a lot of sense. He looked good at times last season with the Falcons in another year removed from his Achilles injury.
One report from NFL Insider Jason La Canfora last week indicated Cousins was Plan B for the Steelers if Rodgers retires. Maybe he should be Plan A if the Steelers really want to compete in this closing window that they have with the aging roster. Cousins can still play, and is a nice fit for McCarthy’s West Coast-style offense.
In limited action last season with the Falcons, Cousins went 5-3 as the starter, completing nearly 62% of his throws for 1,721 yards, 10 touchdowns and five interceptions. In a Week 15 start against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cousins reminded every one of just how good he is, throwing for 373 yards and three touchdowns in a 29-28 win.
Cousins moves better than Rodgers, too, and hasn’t been afraid to stand in there and take some punishment this late in his career. The McCarthy-Rodgers connection makes all the sense in the world and would be a nice story. But if the Steelers want to really compete in 2026 and maybe 2027, they can’t roll with Rodgers again.