Ranking Steelers QB options from Aaron Rodgers to Will Howard to Ty Simpson

Aaron Rodgers has still not re-signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, which continues to leave the team in quarterback limbo after not going after anyone during free agency. Rodgers seems like he's still the best option for the team provided he decides to play this season, but what if he decides he's finally done with the NFL...or the Steelers decide they're finally done with him?

Between bringing Rodgers back, going with a guy on their current roster or drafting someone, the Steelers have some options at quarterback, but they're not the best options. Here's how I'd rank the most likely 2026 Steelers starters.

6. Drew Allar

The Steelers need a long-term option at quarterback and don't have a clear path toward adding that player in the first round of the NFL Draft, so why not explore some potential late-round dart throws who could develop into viable NFL players.

Drew Allar...probably isn't going to be a star in the NFL, but I think he's someone the Steelers could reasonably draft on Day 3 and who could, if everything works out, develop into a short-term option under center.

One thing that stands out with Allar is his arm strength. This dude has a cannon, and he can fling the ball all over the field with ease. The issue is that his mechanics need some work, so right now, he's not particularly accurate with how he's flinging it. He's also a sitting duck if the pocket collapses, which is a major issue. There's theoretical upside, but there's also a reason he's last on this list.

5. Garrett Nussmeier

If you're taking a shot on a quarterback after the first round, LSU's Garrett Nussmeier should probably be on your radar. The Steelers should be able to get him in the third round with No. 85 overall pick, if they want to go that route.

I was high on Nussmeier before this college season, though his numbers at LSU didn't land where I hoped, and he wound up only playing nine games ad struggled because of a core injury.

The tools are there for Nussmeier to be an NFL quarterback. He understands the game at a high level and has an arm that allows him to be aggressive. He probably needs time, though, to fix his mechanics after a season where he simply didn't look like himself, and he also has to rein in some of his worst instincts as far as taking too many risky shots goes.

With that said, there's significantly more upside here than there is with Allar. If the Steelers wind up in a spot where they miss out on the second-best quarterback in this class, where Rodgers doesn't return and where they decide it's better to just tank than to play the quarterbacks currently on the roster, Nussmeier makes sense as the 2026 starter. That is, though, a lot of ifs.

4. Will Howard

The biggest thing working in Will Howard's favor is that he is currently on the roster for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

That's it, basically. The 2025 sixth-round pick has never appeared in an NFL game, but having a full year inside of an NFL system makes him better prepared to start than a late-round rookie would be.

The story on Howard coming into the league was that he was a good athlete with a strong arm, but that he also made too many bad plays and needed to work on his mechanics. If he's done the latter in his time on the Steelers' bench, starting him might not be a complete disaster.

3. Mason Rudolph

Mason Rudolph. That's where we're at: the third-best option to be the Steelers quarterback in 2026 is Mason ******* Rudolph.

I don't think Rudolph is a bad quarterback. In fact, I'd rank him among the NFL players I'd most want as my backup, and he played well in the handful of starts he's made over the past two seasons, including going 24-for-31 for 171 yards, a touchdown and an interception in his lone 2025 start.

At the same time, I have serious concerns about Rudolph's ability to guide a team to a winning record. He went 5-3 as a rookie starter; since then, he's 4-6-1 as a starting quarterback. He's 1-5 over the past two seasons, and if the Steelers want to make a playoff run — which I assume they do, considering the hiring of Mike McCarthy as the head coach — then Rudolph might not be the guy for that.

2. Ty Simpson

There was a time when I was very high on Ty Simpson. Like, thought he could be a top-five pick in the NFL Draft. Really — that was a thing I believed. It's a wonder they still let me write about sports on the internet.

Kidding aside, though, I was fairly high on Simpson. He might not have had standout traits, but he was pretty good at everything and seemed to have the poise to adjust to the NFL. Then came a really awful end to his final season at Alabama, which killed his draft stock.

Even factoring that in, I don't totally think the idea of Simpson starting for the Steelers is insane. At his best, he's probably a game manager in the mode of Kirk Cousins or the better moments we've seen from Mac Jones, and the Steelers certainly have a roster that can win games with that type of guy, assuming Simpson's relative lack of starting experience isn't an immediate hindrance to his NFL career.

1. Aaron Rodgers

I hate this. I hate this, I hate this, I hate this — but Aaron Rodgers remains the Steelers' best option at quarterback.

That's not meant as a compliment for Rodgers, who is 42 years old and just had the fewest passing yards per game as a full-time starter. The former MVP doesn't have much left in the tank, but he has enough to be Pittsburgh's top option under center.

Sure, that's largely because his "will he, won't he" retirement situation has the Steelers backed into a corner. That coupled with a free agency and draft class that are both very weak at the quarterback position meant that the Steelers had no real path toward upgrading at the most important position in football.

But Rodgers was fine last season. Sure, his yardage was down, but he posted his best completion percentage since 2021 and his 4.8 percent touchdown rate was exactly the same as its been over each of his past three full seasons. Add in his lowest interception rate since 2021 and you get a perfectly serviceable player who led the Steelers to a 10-6 record.

Rodgers will probably fall off a bit more in 2026, but what better option does Pittsburgh have? None, at this point. You missed out on Malik Willis, Tua Tagovailoa, Kirk Cousins and Kyler Murray. If you want to get back to the postseason, it's time to get Rodgers back under contract. Of course, if you can't get that done by the time the NFL Draft rolls around, you might have to make the choice to go with a lesser option rather than risk being left with even worse options later on.

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