Feb. 10, 2026, 6:05 a.m. ET<\/p>\n
As free agency<\/a> rapidly approaches, fans should expect the Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> to address multiple areas of concern, which could include quarterback if Aaron Rodgers<\/a> doesn\u2019t return in 2026.<\/p>\n Without Rodgers, the Steelers<\/a> would be left with Mason Rudolph, Will Howard, and Skylar Thompson at signal caller. While all three quarterbacks could compete for a starting opportunity, the Steelers would be wise to consider signing Malik Willis via free agency next month.<\/p>\n Stats2022 (8 games): 276 passing yards, 0 passing touchdowns, 3 interceptions, 50.8 completion percentage, 42.8 passer rating, 123 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown2023 (3 games): 74 passing yards, 0 passing touchdowns, 1 interception, 80.0 completion percentage, 118.7 passer rating, 21 rushing yards, 0 rushing touchdowns2024 (7 games): 550 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 74.1 completion percentage, 124.8 passer rating, 138 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown2025 (4 games): 422 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 85.7 completion percentage, 145.5 passer rating, 123 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdownsFit with Steelers offense<\/p>\n Selected by the Tennessee Titans<\/a> with the 86th overall pick in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Willis quietly emerged as one of the top quarterback options in the upcoming free agency pool thanks to his stellar play with the Packers<\/a> from 2024\u20132025.<\/p>\n Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.<\/a><\/p>\n At best, Willis, a mobile quarterback with a cannon for an arm, could compete with Howard, Rudolph, and Thompson with ease for the starting job. At worst, he\u2019d be arguably among the best backups in the league.<\/p>\n Contract prediction<\/p>\n The Steelers won\u2019t have to break the bank to sign Willis in our contract prediction, signing the young quarterback to a two-year, $30 million contract.<\/p>\n For up-to-date\u00a0Steelers\u00a0coverage, including any offseason moves, follow us on X\u00a0@TheSteelersWire<\/a>\u00a0and give our\u00a0Facebook page<\/a>\u00a0a like.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Feb. 10, 2026, 6:05 a.m. ET As free agency rapidly approaches, fans should expect the Pittsburgh Steelers to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":742387,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2055],"tags":[95878,7,6,520,57,2360,96718,96719,426,96675,95882,95976,98105,102413,95888,95895,95906,96720,106868,95902,95883,95889,95881],"class_list":{"0":"post-742386","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-steelers","8":"tag-accessfree","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-pittsburgh","12":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","13":"tag-pittsburghsteelers","14":"tag-sstssportsnflsteelers","15":"tag-sstsnsteelers","16":"tag-steelers","17":"tag-tagaaron-rodgers","18":"tag-tagamerican-football","19":"tag-taggreen-bay-packers","20":"tag-tagmalik-willis","21":"tag-tagmason-rudolph","22":"tag-tagnfl","23":"tag-tagnfl-hub","24":"tag-tagoverall-positive","25":"tag-tagpittsburgh-steelers","26":"tag-tagskylar-thompson","27":"tag-tagsport-scores-statistics","28":"tag-tagsports-news","29":"tag-tagtennessee-titans","30":"tag-typestory"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116046299682677218","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742386","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=742386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742386\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/742387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=742386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=742386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=742386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}