The Pittsburgh Steelers have made some notable moves ahead of the 2025 NFL season, including their blockbuster trade for wide receiver DK Metcalf. However, after watching quarterback Justin Fields agree to sign with the New York Jets on a two-year, $40 million deal, Pittsburgh still lacks answers at the game’s most important position.
The Steelers have been rumored as a suitor for Aaron Rodgers this offseason, though nothing has come of that yet. With Fields gone and Russell Wilson lingering in free agency, the Steelers need a top-to-bottom restoration of the quarterback room this spring.
Rodgers, 41, is coming off a rough 5-12 season with the Jets. That performance came on the heels of (no pun intended) his Achilles tear in 2023. He’s also been mingling with other teams, including the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants, the latter of whom may be out on Rodgers following their signing of Jameis Winston.
Mike Tannenbaum Suggests The Steelers Are Having The Worst Offseason In NFL
Mike Tannenbaum, a former NFL executive with the Miami Dolphins and ex-general manager of the New York Jets, now serves ESPN as an NFL Insider.
When asked on ESPN’s “Get Up” who he thought was making the “biggest blunder” in the league with their offseason maneuvering, Tannenbaum wasted no time in bringing up the Steelers [related segment begins at 8:22 in the embedded video].
“Well, the Pittsburgh Steelers [made the biggest blunder]. They went out and got a great receiver in DK Metcalf. They have him $30 million a year. But who is throwing him the football?” Tannenbaum rhetorically inquired.
“Right now, it’s Mason Rudolph. They have the 21st pick in the draft. To me, until they get at least Russell Wilson back: I love Metcalf, I hate the sequence of how they did it.”
Fields, who started six games for the Steelers in 2024 (going 4-2) before giving way to veteran Russell Wilson (who also remains a free agent), finished the 2024 season with a 78.1 grade, according to PFSN’s QB+ metric.
That ranked ahead of both Wilson (75.3 QB+) and Rodgers (72.2 QB+), though technically, Fields didn’t have enough pass attempts to qualify in the rankings. Regardless, it’s clear the Steelers have put themselves in a difficult spot by letting the young, mobile signal-caller walk.
In Metcalf and George Pickens, the Steelers have one of the most talented (and combustible) wide receiver rooms in football.
With further investments into their offensive line, it isn’t hard to imagine the team finding a ton of success on the offensive side of the ball in 2025 if they find the right quarterback.
That quarterback isn’t Mason Rudolph, though, whom the franchise recently reunited with as Tannenbaum noted. With their options dwindling ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Steelers need to add someone of note to their quarterback competition, lest they risk their playoff victory drought extending to nine years.