The Steelers went into the second night of the NFL Draft with 11 picks still in hand, but one of the biggest questions around the team had not moved: whether Aaron Rodgers would return for a 22nd NFL season.
Rounds 2 and 3 aired live Friday night on WTAE Channel 4 in Pittsburgh, and the Steelers were scheduled to move into Rounds 4 through 7 at noon Saturday. Pittsburgh already had the 21st overall pick in the first round, and the team used it on lineman Max Iheanachor out of Arizona State. That left the rest of the draft to shape what the roster could become, even as the quarterback picture remained unsettled.
Art Rooney II made clear early in the draft that the first-round pick was unlikely to be a quarterback, telling Andrew Stockey, “I think I can tell you one thing, it’s probably not going to be a quarterback.” He also pointed to the team’s overall draft haul, saying, “we have 12 selections in this draft, so we have an opportunity to really add some talent to the roster.”
The quarterback uncertainty is the backdrop to everything the Steelers are doing. Rooney had previously said a decision on Rodgers was expected before the draft, but that answer had not arrived. If Rodgers does come back, he would play under new Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy, and it would be his 22nd NFL season. McCarthy and Rodgers won Super Bowl XLV together with the Green Bay Packers.
For now, Pittsburgh already had two quarterbacks on the roster in McCarthy’s room: Will Howard, a sixth-round pick in the 2025 draft, and Mason Rudolph, who returned to Pittsburgh last season on a two-year contract. That gives the Steelers a limited but functional base at the position while the Rodgers question stays open.
The draft itself has also given Pittsburgh more flexibility than the average team. The Steelers received their first third-round pick and a fifth-rounder in 2027 from the Cowboys in the trade that sent wide receiver George Pickens to Dallas, adding to the capital they had heading into Day 2. The result is a draft board with more swings still to come, but one glaring issue can still change the shape of the entire weekend. Until Rodgers decides, the Steelers are building around a quarterback room that may yet have to make room for him.
