{"id":735770,"date":"2026-02-07T14:16:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T14:16:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/735770\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T14:16:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T14:16:14","slug":"insider-outlines-steelers-qb-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/735770\/","title":{"rendered":"Insider Outlines Steelers QB Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just like the old coaching staff, Mike McCarthy and the returning Pittsburgh Steelers\u2019 front office will spend the offseason answering the team\u2019s biggest question: quarterback. Who is the starter? Who is the future? What is the plan? Saturday morning, ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler outlined<\/a> the team\u2019s thinking. A mix of old and new.<\/p>\n

In a wide-ranging column, Fowler continues to note the team\u2019s desire to bring back QB Aaron Rodgers. He gets the sense that the feeling is mutual.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpeaking of Rodgers, he has emerged from the 2025 season refreshed. One source I spoke to said Rodgers is in a much better place coming out of his year with the Steelers compared with his previous two years with the Jets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodgers\u2019 rosier mentality was obvious. In New York, he experienced two failed and difficult seasons. A torn Achilles in 2023 followed by a miserable 2024, winning five games, where the coaching staff and general manager were fired, and drama followed the team every step of the way. In Pittsburgh, Rodgers had fun. Even if the Steelers\u2019 season ended without a playoff win, Rodgers proved he could play and mesh well in a new environment. His body felt good, in part thanks to a lightning-fast release.<\/p>\n

With McCarthy leading the way, offensive line coach James Campen hired,<\/a> and QBs Coach Tom Arth returning, the Steelers are set up for Rodgers\u2019 return. Still, he\u2019s yet to make a final decision, and it\u2019s unclear when he will. Before free agency is preferable, but Rodgers works on his own timeline.<\/p>\n

Should Rodgers spurn the Steelers, Fowler notes the team could pivot to another 40-something quarterback. Joe Flacco.<\/p>\n

\u201cPittsburgh liked his free agency profile last offseason, too,\u201d Fowler writes of Flacco.<\/p>\n

Flacco\u2019s on record as being open to the idea.<\/a> It would complete an AFC North tour in which he\u2019s already played for the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, and Cincinnati Bengals. Flacco showed he could succeed with weapons around him, looking far better after a mid-season trade to Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh would offer him a better defense after the Bengals\u2019 unit repeatedly failed him in 2025.<\/p>\n

Still, neither Rodgers nor Flacco is a long-term option. Will Howard might be.<\/p>\n

\u201cPittsburgh believes it might have something; his command of the huddle, sharpness at the line of scrimmage and ability to ingratiate with teammates have stood out,\u201d Fowler said.<\/p>\n

While optimistic, the Steelers\u2019 information is limited. Howard took just 93 training camp team reps before a broken bone in his hand caused him to miss the entire preseason. He spent the first half of the regular season on injured reserve before returning to practice, never appearing in a game.<\/p>\n

His next in-stadium snap will be his first, and it\u2019s difficult to evaluate him until that happens. But it\u2019s no surprise he impressed with poise, an experienced college starter who led Ohio State to a championship in his lone year with the Buckeyes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Just like the old coaching staff, Mike McCarthy and the returning Pittsburgh Steelers\u2019 front office will spend the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":686584,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2055],"tags":[1586,7,6388,562,6,520,57,2360,426,691,2183],"class_list":{"0":"post-735770","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-steelers","8":"tag-aaron-rodgers","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-jeremy-fowler","11":"tag-joe-flacco","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-pittsburgh","14":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","15":"tag-pittsburghsteelers","16":"tag-steelers","17":"tag-trending","18":"tag-will-howard"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116029776914153613","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=735770"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735770\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/686584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=735770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=735770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=735770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}