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Steelers keeping QB options open, with or without Aaron Rodgers

Sun Mar 30 10:05pm ET
Field Level Media

The Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback position is a work in progress, and coach Mike Tomlin said that signing Aaron Rodgers, the most prominent free agent in a thin market, is only one possible option.

The Steelers met with the 41-year-old Rodgers, a four-time NFL Most Valuable Player, on March 21 for a reported six hours. Tomlin met with media for the first time since then on Sunday at the NFL's annual meeting in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Tomlin called it "a really good day" spent with a player he has known for some time. As far as a timetable, however, the coach said there's no deadline for Rodgers to work out a deal with the Steelers from the team's perspective.

"I really wanted to spend more of our time just getting to know him better, and things that he values as a player and a man, and what he might be looking for with his next stop," Tomlin said. "I don't know that we've approached it from a deadline perspective. Certainly, as I mentioned, you'd like to have settled circumstances, but deadlines can often bring that to a head."

Tomlin called free agency a process, which has led Pittsburgh to bring back former Steelers QB Mason Rudolph, who played last season with Tennessee, and another veteran, former Miami Dolphin Skylar Thompson.

The Steelers' 2024 quarterback room has emptied, as Russell Wilson and Justin Fields were on one-year deals as they split starts, and Kyle Allen was a reserve. Wilson signed with the New York Giants and Fields went to Rodgers' former team, the New York Jets. Allen signed as a free agent with the Detroit Lions. The high turnover at the QB position has gone on for two seasons.

"Oftentimes, I say ‘Two is a pattern.' It's a cliche that I use in coaching, but I don't know that I'm alarmed by that as it pertains to this discussion," Tomlin said. "We're just simply trying to put together the very best team that we can put together for 2025. Last year, we had a group in that room that were on one-year deals, and so the possibility of what we're doing right now was a real thing. But that's just one isolated scenario. If we're having similar conversations next year at this time, it's probably more of a discussion for us."

Tomlin is not glossing over the addition of Rudolph, 29, as a potential starter, as he was signed to a two-year contract.

"We're optimistic about the room that we're constructing. Obviously, we're excited about having Mason Rudolph back," Tomlin said. "But certainly we're going to continue to explore all our options in terms of rounding that room out."

That includes adding another free agent or selecting a QB in the draft. Rodgers, who was released by the Jets on March 12 and has not said whether he wants to continue playing, has the decided edge in experience.

He passed for 3,897 yards and 28 touchdowns in 2024, returning from a season-ending Achilles injury suffered in his first game with the Jets in September 2023.

The 10-time Pro Bowl selection ranks fifth in league history in touchdown passes (503) and seventh in passing yards (62,952).

"We're still evaluating the acquisition of a guy at that position, whether it's free agency and/or the draft, and so we're doing our due diligence, communicating with some free agents, also preparing for the draft," Tomlin said. "(GM) Omar (Khan) and I just got off on a nice tour here last week where we were at Notre Dame, Ohio State and Texas, for example, our last three trips. I think all three of those institutions have quarterbacks that are draft-eligible, and so it's been a good process for us."

Steelers keeping QB options open, with or without Aaron Rodgers

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