Aaron Rodgers was good for the 2025 season, but the Steelers need a youth movement

If you listen Pittsburgh Steelers players would have nothing against Aaron Rodgers returning. That includes DK Metcalf. However, while Rodgers was good for the 2025 season, the Steelers need a youth movement.

And he should start at quarterback.

The Steelers were defeated 30-6 by the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round on Monday night. It capped off a season in which the Steelers snuck into the playoffs and Rodgers played at a reasonable level, but nothing special.

The Steelers moving with KB Aaron Rodgers made sense in 2025

Entering the season, the Steelers seemed to believe they had all the pieces needed to make a run at the Super Bowl. All they needed, they thought, was a steady presence at fullback.

Because of Rodgers’ stellar career and his willingness to keep playing, the Steelers did the right thing. The bottom line is the Steelers made the playoffs. That was the main goal.

Yes, the Super Bowl was pie in the sky. And they missed that a lot. But without Rodgers, it’s unlikely the Steelers would have made the postseason.

Of course, a seventh straight failure to win in the playoffs hurts. But the Steelers remained a relevant team in the NFL playoff picture.

However, change must happen.

The Steelers should part ways with QB Aaron Rodgers

It should be a mutual decision. And if Rodgers senses the Steelers want to go in a different direction, it’s unlikely he’d fight it at this stage in his career. Rodgers will accept it and move on.

Whether the Steelers will move on Mike Tomlin is a completely separate issue. But they need to address the quarterback position in the 2026 NFL Draft.

There is another direction the Steelers could go for the 2026 season. They could try to acquire Malik Willis. That may be a little less of a risk than a first-round draft pick.

Willis looked like a solid NFL quarterback in his small sample with the Packers. But a small sample size doesn’t mean he could do it all season long. So if the Steelers are looking in that direction, they need to add a better young threat than Will Howard.

Where could the Steelers go in the draft?

In the first round, they reached the 21st place. And it’s the perfect place to be if the draft goes the way some experts are suggesting. In fact, Pro Football Focus addressed the issue in a recent mock. In it, the Steelers grabbed Alabama’s Tee Simpson as their own the next franchise quarterback full of hope.

“The Steelers haven’t had a true franchise quarterback since primetime Ben Roethlisberger, and it would be wise to try to get Simpson to sit behind Aaron Rodgers,” wrote Max Chadwick. “His 30 big throws are tied for the most among any quarterback in college football this season.”

Simpson’s value got a little depressed because he didn’t finish as strong as he started. But he has the makeup to be a successful NFL quarterback, even early in his career. He could hit the groundaccording to nfldraftbuzz.com.

“Simpson is one of the most fascinating quarterbacks in recent memory — the first player to show elite command through nine games before reality complicated the narrative,” NFL Draft Buzz wrote. “The tape doesn’t lie about what he showed early: This was a quarterback who executed concepts and reads that take franchise quarterbacks years to master, doing so without a running game to lean on while posting an absurd 21-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio.”

“When evaluators watch those first nine games, they see someone redefining what’s possible for a first-year rookie. Teams desperate for their next franchise quarterback will circle his name because what he lacks in prototypical measurables, he makes up for with a rare quarterback intellect married to precise execution.”

Sounds like a good direction for the Steelers organization.