Michael Pittman Jr. said Wednesday he trusts Mason Rudolph and Will Howard to handle the Steelers’ quarterback job if Aaron Rodgers does not return to Pittsburgh.
Pittman made the comments while speaking to reporters at the Toyota-sponsored NFL Draft Flag Football Training Camp, where the newly acquired receiver was asked about a franchise that has spent most of the last four seasons searching for stability behind center. He said he is no stranger to quarterback turnover after spending the past six years in Indianapolis, where he cycled through passers of every kind and still kept producing. “I’m no stranger to that, you know, I’ve played for Indy for the past six years, and I could go on and list all of the quarterbacks I had there,” Pittman said.
He added that the Steelers have options even if Rodgers never makes a final decision. “Fortunate that all of those guys were great guys and just know that here, in Pittsburgh, we have two guys who I think are really good players. We’re waiting on Aaron and if Aaron doesn’t make the call then we got two guys like that that are ready to hop in and show what they got,” Pittman said.
That matters in Pittsburgh because the team has not had a long-term answer since Ben Roethlisberger retired, and it has started a different opening-day quarterback every season dating back to 2021. The Steelers’ offense was better with Rodgers, but it still was not where it needed to be in the postseason, leaving the team in the same uneasy spot it has occupied for years.
Pittman’s arrival was meant to help steady that offense. The Steelers got him in a sign-and-trade at the start of the new league year and then gave him a three-year extension, a move that signaled he is being counted on as more than a short-term addition. He now joins a receiver room in which only two other Steelers wideouts are under contract for 2026, adding even more weight to his role as a veteran presence.
He also had one other prediction on a day built around the draft. Pittman said he believes Ty Simpson will have a great night when the NFL Draft unfolds, a small comment that fit the larger theme of his appearance: the Steelers are still waiting on Rodgers, but they are already talking as if Rudolph or Howard may have to carry the next snap.
