The Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants are engaged in what appears to be a game of free agent tug-of-war.
There are only so many viable free agent quarterbacks left on the market. New York has an ace up its sleeve — either Sheduer Sanders or Cam Ward could fall to the No. 3 pick in April — but the Giants appear to prefer a veteran, as both Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll are sitting on warm seats these days. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, has been looking for a load-bearing franchise QB ever since Ben Roethlisberger retired.
Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson are the main candidates. The latter has a meeting lined up with the Giants tomorrow, and he's the incumbent in Pittsburgh. Rodgers, meanwhile, could leave one East Rutherford team for the other. It'd help save on real estate costs. Or, he could join a proven winner in Mike Tomlin's Steelers, where he'd get to finish an illustrious career butting heads with Arthur Smith and throwing to the newly minted duo of DK Metcalf and George Pickens.
The Steelers and Giants are fishing in the same pond, but there's a world in which one comes up empty. What if Russ signs in Cleveland, for example? Then it's Rodgers or bust, and the losing team will be left picking through scraps.
The Giants, again, are in a better position with their high draft pick, but if the Steelers whiff completely on the two available "stars" at QB... big yikes. Their fallback options get awfully thin at that point, and they can once again follow New York's lead to figure out who else might take snaps in 2025.
Giants interviewing Joe Flacco is a grim harbinger for the QB-needy Steelers
The Giants hosted Joe Flacco for an interview on Thursday, per ESPN's Field Yates, one day before their scheduled meeting with the aforementioned Wilson. If New York can secure either Russ or Rodgers, Flacco becomes a pure afterthought. But what about the Steelers? If Pittsburgh watches Russ leave and then fails to get a Rodgers deal over the finish line, it may just be Flacco who's next in line. What a grim thought.
It's hard to overstate just how dry the barrel is getting, folks. Gardner Minshew inked a deal in Kansas City today. Daniel Jones is in Indy. Heck, Mac Jones is on his way to San Francisco. If the Steelers are forced to go to Plan C or D, well... is Flacco the last man standing?
A longtime Steelers rival in Baltimore, Flacco has been on a quasi-revenge tour of late. He made an unexpected postseason run (albeit a very short one) in Cleveland, then spent 2024 with the Colts, with whom he registered six starts and threw for 1,761 yards, 12 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
He's 40, but when the "better" options are Russ (36) and Rodgers (41), the Steelers are hardly in a position to nitpick. This will sound dire, and it is not an endorsement, but Flacco might be the closest thing left to a starting quarterback if Pittsburgh's primary options fall through. He did look awfully good in Cleveland. He technically outperformed Anthony Richardson in Indy last season. The dude still has a strong arm and he understands what it takes to win, even if his ability to navigate pressure and dial up long-range bombs has subsided rather drastically.
It's impossible to feel good about starting Joe Flacco in 2025, and it'd be especially awkward for the Steelers, a team he has such a strong relationship to (derogatory). Flacco was an enemy of the state in Pittsburgh for so long. That said, Flacco did become a cult hero in Cleveland, so anything's possible. And, if the Giants are poking around Flacco, it's only a matter of time until the Steelers do the same.