![\"Aaron](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2236588124.jpg\")
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The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo argued the Pittsburgh Steelers shouldn’t take any quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft even with Aaron Rodgers uncertainty.<\/p>\n
The Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> could be in position to take any quarterback during the 2026 NFL Draft not named Fernando Mendoza. That\u2019s likely what a lot of pundits will call on the team to do if Aaron Rodgers<\/a> remains undecided about the 2026 season.<\/p>\n The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette\u2019s Ray Fittipaldo explained on the radio Monday he feels differently. Fittipaldo argued the Steelers shouldn\u2019t draft any quarterback in the 2026 NFL<\/a> draft class.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know that [Mendoza\u2019s] gonna be an elite quarterback. I think he\u2019ll be good,\u201d Fittipaldo said on 93.7 The Fan<\/a>. \u201cBut these other guys that you\u2019re talking about \u2014 the Ty Simpsons. The kid from North Dakota State, a bunch of like third, fourth and fifth rounders. Guys who could develop into backups or maybe low-level starters.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy take a chance on a guy like that when you can fill out your roster? And then when you are in position, when you are a quarterback away, maybe you hit the ground running, and you hit on that guy.<\/p>\n \u201cThen boom, you\u2019re in the Super Bowl window.\u201d<\/p>\n Fittipaldo made that argument despite a pundits pushing the opposite idea \u2014 the Steelers need to address quarterback in the 2026 class. That\u2019s a growing narrative around the team in part because Rodgers hasn\u2019t signed to play this fall.<\/p>\n Ty Simpson Likely to Be Steelers Best QB Option in 2026 NFL Draft<\/p>\n Draft analysts have linked the Steelers to a few different quarterbacks through the draft process this spring. That\u2019s likely to continue until the draft officially begins in Pittsburgh on Thursday, April 23.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a reason, though, Fittipaldo mentioned Simpson by name.<\/p>\n Most pundits who have argued the Steelers should target a quarterback early consider Simpson the top choice.<\/p>\n Both ESPN\u2019s Mel Kiper Jr. and NFL Network\u2019s Daniel Jeremiah rated<\/a> the Alabama signal-caller the No. 2 quarterback in the 2026 class. Kiper ranked Simpson his No. 20 overall prospect as well.<\/p>\n \u201cHis lack of experience might be a concern, as Simpson didn\u2019t start a game until last season, but the production is hard to ignore. Simpson knows the game and competes on every down,\u201d Kiper wrote<\/a>. \u201cHe\u2019s a battler who is always trying to make a play \u2014 sometimes to his detriment.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd Simpson maneuvers well in the pocket and can beat defenses with his legs when the passing play isn\u2019t there.\u201d<\/p>\n How Badly Do Steelers Need Back Aaron Rodgers for 2026?<\/p>\n Fittipaldo didn\u2019t mention Rodgers at all during his argument about avoiding 2026 quarterbacks. However, it will be a lot easier for the Steelers to do that if they have Rodgers back for next season.<\/p>\n Without Rodgers, the team has Mason Rudolph<\/a> and Will Howard<\/a> on the quarterback depth chart. Rudolph has starter experience but owns a 1-5 record since the start of the 2024 campaign.<\/p>\n Howard has no regular season or preseason NFL experience.<\/p>\n With Rodgers, the Steelers will have the same quarterback room as last season. They will have the opportunity to compete immediately with the 4-time MVP. Meanwhile, Howard offers a potential future option with the Steelers likely to explore quarterback options in the 2027 class.<\/p>\n But without Rodgers, the Steelers will need another signal-caller to fill out their depth chart.<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t mean Pittsburgh\u2019s third quarterback (in the event Rodgers doesn\u2019t come back) has to come through the draft. But the veteran options are drying up in NFL free agency.<\/p>\n Joe Flacco and Kirk Cousins have each signed with new teams.<\/p>\n According to ESPN\u2019s most recent NFL free agency rankings<\/a>, the next-best free agent quarterback after Rodgers is Russell Wilson. On NFL.com\u2019s best available list<\/a>, Jimmy Garoppolo was the top free agent quarterback following Rodgers.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tDave Holcomb<\/a> is a sports reporter covering the NFL and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Pittsburgh Steelers and a variety of other NFL teams. Originally from Pittsburgh, Holcomb has covered college and professional sports for outlets including FanSided, Rotowire and Yardbarker. More about Dave Holcomb<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Steelers\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo argued the Pittsburgh Steelers shouldn’t take any quarterback in the 2026 NFL…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":857910,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2055],"tags":[7,6,520,57,2360,426],"class_list":{"0":"post-857909","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-steelers","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-nfl","10":"tag-pittsburgh","11":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","12":"tag-pittsburghsteelers","13":"tag-steelers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116360844565620634","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857909","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=857909"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857909\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/857910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=857909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=857909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=857909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}