Steelers’ Bold Gamble: Are They Poised to Snatch Aaron Rodgers and Ignite a Championship Chase?

As the NFL Draft looms large, the Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves at an intriguing crossroads—one charged with uncertainty yet fueled by intent. The quarterback room has been a central puzzle for the franchise, and make no mistake, roster additions are coming—plural, no less. General Manager Omar Khan didn’t mince words before the draft, declaring a firm plan to bring four quarterbacks to training camp in Latrobe. With only two officially on board, the hunt for more signal-callers is far from over.

This year’s draft reinforced the Steelers’ commitment to this vision, highlighted by their sixth-round pick: Ohio State’s Will Howard, a clear nod toward expanding depth at that position. But beneath the surface, the whole draft strategy buzzes with underlying whispers of Aaron Rodgers — a name that looms larger than any draft pick, a shadow shaping every move. The Steelers are playing a careful game, orchestrating their roster and schedule with an unspoken timeline that embraces flexibility rather than hard deadlines, in order to avoid the circus of media scrambles and speculation.

For now, Rodgers remains unsigned and at arm’s length, allowing Pittsburgh to sidestep the countless sideline stories that have dogged the quarterback—rumors about his latest personal life theatrics included. Meanwhile, the Steelers march forward with three quarterbacks in the fold—Howard, Mason Rudolph, and Skylar Thompson—with a conspicuously reserved spot held open, just waiting for Rodgers’ arrival. And though Coach Mike Tomlin underscores the importance of team unity by training camp, the reality is cloudy: the organization is buying time, navigating between urgency and patience, knowing full well the stakes.

Behind the scenes, the draft picks tell their own story—players selected for immediate impact, not for a slow developmental curve, signaling the organization’s intent to win now, with or without Rodgers materializing on the roster imminently. Meanwhile, a backup plan involving a potential Kirk Cousins acquisition remains tucked away but hardly forgotten.

In many ways, this feels like déjà vu—a franchise hanging its hopes on a seasoned veteran to lead the charge within a tailored, win-centric roster, mirroring a playbook we’ve seen before elsewhere. The Steelers’ every transaction, the measured silence, the deliberate moves—they collectively shout one thing: Aaron Rodgers is coming. Whether it’s next week or at the edge of summer, the franchise is positioning itself for a critical chapter, with little room for plan B.

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That’s what the Steelers are doing right now. They’re a team that doesn’t have Rodgers under contract, but they’re conducting their moves like his signing is an inevitability. Maybe the signing comes in days or weeks. Maybe it comes in July. Whenever it happens, it’s coming.However, that schedule won’t include a clock or deadlines, no matter how many times the outside world tries to nail one down. That’s for the very much intended purpose of eliminating more stories about Rodgers’ existence in Pittsburgh’s orbit, eliminating questions about why he is not taking part in organized team activities and even leaving the door open for him to potentially miss the June minicamp, if it ultimately comes to that. So long as Rodgers isn’t signed, there is no room for questions about why he’s signed but not in the building, or a running timeline of when he is going to show up.“We go to camp with four quarterbacks,” Steelers general manager Omar Khan said, prior to the first day of the draft. “Right now we have two on the roster. All options are on the table in how we acquire those last two. I assure you we’ll have four when we get to [training camp in] Latrobe [Pennsylvania].”

“We go to camp with four quarterbacks,” Steelers general manager Omar Khan said, prior to the first day of the draft. “Right now we have two on the roster. All options are on the table in how we acquire those last two. I assure you we’ll have four when we get to [training camp in] Latrobe [Pennsylvania].”

“We go to camp with four quarterbacks,” Steelers general manager Omar Khan said, prior to the first day of the draft. “Right now we have two on the roster. All options are on the table in how we acquire those last two. I assure you we’ll have four when we get to [training camp in] Latrobe [Pennsylvania].”

“We go to camp with four quarterbacks,” Steelers general manager Omar Khan said, prior to the first day of the draft. “Right now we have two on the roster. All options are on the table in how we acquire those last two. I assure you we’ll have four when we get to [training camp in] Latrobe [Pennsylvania].”

AdvertisementAdvertisementThat’s still a break-the-glass scenario the Steelers don’t really think is going to happen. Instead, the franchise is telegraphing a signing of Rodgers at every turn. First by keeping a seat open in the quarterback room, and second by conducting itself in the draft like a team that’s going all-in on a win-now veteran quarterback named Aaron Rodgers.