As the 2026 NFL offseason gets underway, the Pittsburgh Steelers will be asking the same question they have been asking since Ben Roethlisberger retired following the 2021 season: Who will be the Steelers’ QB when the season begins?
Last year, the answer was 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers. He came to Pittsburgh after 18 years with the Green Bay Packers, followed by two years with the New York Jets. This year, the Steelers have a few options for who could be their signal caller in 2026.
With free agency opening soon and the NFL Draft quick to follow, the Steelers will have plenty of options available to them at the QB position. The significant difference between this year and past years, however, is who the new quarterback will report to.
For the first time in 20 years, the Pittsburgh Steelers will have a new head coach. Mike Tomlin stepped down last month, and Mike McCarthy was brought in as his replacement. So now the question is: Who will McCarthy and General Manager Omar Khan bring in to lead the team on the field under this new coaching staff?
Will the Steelers Stick With Aaron Rodgers?
Last season, Aaron Rodgers led the Steelers to a 10-7 record and their first AFC North division title since 2020. Unfortunately for Rodgers and the Steelers, the season ended in the same way that the 2020 season did. They suffered a beatdown at home in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
Rodgers’ stats may not have been the MVP-level play we’ve seen in years past. However, it was the best play the Steelers received from the quarterback position since Roethlisberger retired.
In 16 starts, Rodgers had a 10-6 record. He missed one game with a wrist injury. He passed for 3,332 yards and 24 touchdowns to just seven interceptions. In addition, he had a passer rating of 94.8. That was his highest mark in that stat since his 2021 MVP campaign.
When he first signed with the Steelers, Rodgers said Tomlin was the primary reason why. With Tomlin now out in Pittsburgh, questions arose as to whether Rodgers would want to return. Many within the organization want him back. Now, with McCarthy running the show, a return appears even more likely.
Can Kirk Cousins Be Pittsburgh’s Bridge QB?
If the Steelers want to stick with a veteran quarterback but can’t reach a deal with Aaron Rodgers, they could look in the direction of Kirk Cousins. After spending six years each with the Minnesota Vikings and Washington Commanders, Cousins has spent the last two seasons as an Atlanta Falcon.
He was demoted to a bench role for the 2025 season because the Falcons wanted to shift towards the younger Michael Penix Jr. When Penix went down with a season-ending knee injury, the Falcons thrust Cousins back into the starting spot.
Cousins appeared in 10 games last season, starting eight of them, and throwing for an underwhelming 1,721 yards. Furthermore, he had 10 touchdowns compared to five interceptions. He went 5-3 in his eight starts.
With Cousins getting older — next season will be his age-38 season — and the Falcons wanting to get younger, the team is expected to release Cousins before the new league year begins in March. If the Steelers decide to pursue him, Cousins could be a bridge quarterback. He could also serve as a mentor for the next long-term candidate in the position.
Should the Steelers Buy Low on Kyler Murray?
When Steelers owner Art Rooney II held his first press conference after Tomlin stepped down, he shrugged off the idea of rebuilding and said he wants the team to compete in its first year under its new head coach. Kyler Murray perhaps gives them the best chance to do that, but he could also be a long-term answer at the quarterback position.
The 28-year-old Murray has spent all seven of his seasons in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals. Over the last few years, injuries have hampered him. He did play in all 17 games in 2024, but in 2023, he only appeared in eight games due to a torn ACL, and in 2025, he only took the field five times due to a severe foot injury.
When Murray was on the field last season, his stats were not exactly earth-shattering. He went 2-3 in his five starts, throwing for 962 yards with just six touchdowns and three interceptions. Murray also ran for 173 yards and one touchdown.
Now, to play a bit of devil’s advocate, the Cardinals haven’t done a great job of building a winning team around Murray. Since they took him first overall in 2019, the Cardinals have only had one season with more than eight wins. They went to the playoffs in that 2021 season, but lost in the Wild Card round.
Two things separate an acquisition like this from guys like Rodgers and Cousins: the means and the money. Murray is under contract through 2028 and is slated to have a near-$53 million cap hit in 2026. Because Murray is still under contract, the Steelers would have to trade for him. Yet, if there was ever a guy to buy low on, it would be Kyler Murray, as the Cardinals are looking to move on from him before the new league year, when ~$20 million of his cap hit would become guaranteed.
The Young Guns
Perhaps the Steelers don’t want to fill the quarterback position with another aging veteran. Maybe they want to find their next franchise quarterback this offseason. They already have Will Howard on their roster, whom they selected in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
In 2024, Howard led the Ohio State Buckeyes to their first national championship since 2014. Howard could have competed with Mason Rudolph for the backup job behind Rodgers in his rookie season if it weren’t for an unfortunate injury in training camp. In his introductory press conference with the Steelers, Coach McCarthy said he was a big fan and believer in Howard.
The Steelers could also look to take another swing at the quarterback position in this upcoming draft. They hold two picks each in the third and fourth rounds, where prospects such as LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, Miami’s Carson Beck, or Penn State’s Drew Allar all could be available.
When speaking at the Senior Bowl, Nussmeier in particular expressed interest in playing for the Steelers and under McCarthy. Nussmeier’s father, Doug, also worked with McCarthy on the Dallas Cowboys’ staff, with Nussmeier serving as the tight ends coach and quarterback coach.
The Steelers have been searching for their next franchise quarterback since 2022. In that time, they tried to fill the hole by using a first-round pick on the University of Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett, who now plays for the Raiders, and brought in stopgap free agent signings like Mitchell Trubisky, Russell Wilson, and Aaron Rodgers.
They have plenty of options available to them this offseason, whether they want to take a shot on their next franchise guy or bring in another veteran as they wait for the right guy to fall to them.
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