{"id":822656,"date":"2026-03-20T06:53:32","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T06:53:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/822656\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T06:53:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T06:53:32","slug":"steelers-qb-uncertainty-grows-as-rodgers-decision-nears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/822656\/","title":{"rendered":"Steelers QB uncertainty grows as Rodgers decision nears"},"content":{"rendered":"

March 19, 2026, 10:42 p.m. ET<\/p>\n

Another offseason finds the Pittsburgh Steelers once again waiting on Aaron Rodgers to decide his future. The clock is ticking for the Super Bowl champion to inform the organization whether he\u2019ll return for a second season. While Rodgers told Pat McAfee<\/a> earlier this month that there\u2019s \u201cno deadline that\u2019s been put in front of me,\u201d the 2026 NFL Draft \u2014 set to take place in Pittsburgh \u2014 is now just five weeks away. Ideally, the Steelers would like clarity on the direction of their quarterback room before then, but as history has shown, what\u2019s best for the organization doesn\u2019t always align with Rodgers\u2019 timeline.<\/p>\n

That uncertainty hasn\u2019t gone unnoticed by franchise legend Ben Roethlisberger, who recently weighed in on the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, one, we don’t know who the quarterback is\u2026 that’s probably not important,\u201d Roethlisberger joked on the recent episode of “Footbahlin’ with Ben Roethlisberger<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is definitely a shroud of mystery around this team right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Roethlisberger\u2019s comments highlight just how unsettled things feel in Pittsburgh, particularly at quarterback. Since his 2021 retirement, the franchise has struggled to establish long-term stability at the position, and that lingering question continues to shape the team\u2019s outlook this offseason.<\/p>\n

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At the same time, Roethlisberger made it clear he believes the situation should ultimately resolve itself in the Steelers\u2019 favor \u2014 especially given the talent now in place around the quarterback.<\/p>\n

\u201dHow is Aaron not coming back when you have those kinds of weapons?\u201d Roethlisberger said. \u201cLike, what are we doing? There is no way he is not coming back. No way.<\/p>\n

“I don’t see how he doesn’t [come back].”<\/p>\n

While Pittsburgh did lose its leading receiver from the 2025 season in running back Kenny Gainwell, the front office has worked to reload. The Steelers added wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. and running back Rico Dowdle in free agency, giving the offense additional firepower and strengthening the case for a veteran quarterback to step in and lead the group.<\/p>\n

Still, even with those additions, questions remain. With Will Howard entering his second season without any in-game experience and Mason Rudolph offering limited upside, the Steelers appear likely to target a quarterback with one of their dozen picks in April. However, much like their approach in 2025, adding a veteran bridge option may be the more prudent path \u2014 especially with a stronger quarterback class expected in the 2027 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"March 19, 2026, 10:42 p.m. ET Another offseason finds the Pittsburgh Steelers once again waiting on Aaron Rodgers…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":822657,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2055],"tags":[95878,7,6,520,57,2360,96718,96719,426,96675,95882,102413,96013,95896,95888,95899,99231,97040,95883,95881],"class_list":{"0":"post-822656","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-tagmason-rudolph","20":"tag-tagmichael-pittman-jr","21":"tag-tagnational-sports","22":"tag-tagnfl","23":"tag-tagoverall-neutral","24":"tag-tagpat-mcafee","25":"tag-tagrico-dowdle","26":"tag-tagsports-news","27":"tag-typestory"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116260190492950925","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/822656","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=822656"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/822656\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/822657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=822656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=822656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=822656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}