The Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t hitting the reset button-at least not yet.
With Mike Tomlin stepping down after a storied run, the franchise made a bold pivot by bringing in veteran head coach Mike McCarthy. That hire alone sent a clear signal: this isn’t a rebuild.
This is a team still trying to win now. And with growing buzz around Aaron Rodgers returning for a second season under center, the message from team president Art Rooney II is loud and clear-this organization isn’t interested in starting over from scratch.
But here’s the question: is “staying competitive” actually helping the Steelers move forward?
Let’s be honest-hovering around .500 might keep the fanbase engaged and the locker room motivated, but it hasn’t translated to playoff wins or long-term quarterback answers. Rodgers’ return might look like the best short-term option, but it also raises a bigger issue: what’s the long game here?
The quarterback room behind Rodgers doesn’t exactly scream “future franchise guy.” Mason Rudolph is a known quantity-solid in a pinch, but not someone you build around.
Will Howard, a sixth-round pick who lost his rookie season to injury, remains a total unknown. There’s some quiet optimism around Howard’s poise, football IQ, and leadership traits, but let’s keep it real: he was a Day 3 pick for a reason.
Hoping he blossoms into the next Tom Brady is more fantasy than plan.
That brings us back to Rodgers. The idea of reuniting him with McCarthy might stir some nostalgic optimism, but this isn’t 2014.
The arm talent? Still there.
The mobility and off-script magic that made him an MVP? Not so much.
Still, by all accounts, Rodgers brought professionalism, leadership, and a veteran presence to the locker room in 2025-qualities that mattered, especially given the skepticism around his arrival.
But this isn’t a passing-of-the-torch moment like Brett Favre to Rodgers once was. There’s no clear heir apparent waiting in the wings. And that’s where the dilemma lies.
If the Steelers were to lean into a youth movement-start Howard, give Rudolph another look, or even draft a young QB-they might take some lumps in 2026. A 5-12 or 6-11 season isn’t out of the question.
But it would come with a silver lining: a top-10 draft pick in what’s shaping up to be a deep 2027 quarterback class. That’s the kind of long-term investment that can actually change a franchise’s trajectory.
Instead, Pittsburgh appears to be doubling down on the status quo. Rodgers is likely back.
McCarthy is running the show. And the Steelers are trying to thread the needle between competitiveness and transition-a tightrope act that rarely ends with a Lombardi Trophy.
Rodgers showed last year that he can still play. But the results? They looked an awful lot like what we've seen for the better part of a decade: flashes of promise, a few big wins, and an early exit when it matters most.
There’s no doubt this team wants to win. But sometimes, the path to real winning means taking a step back first.
For now, though, Pittsburgh is choosing to stay the course. Whether that leads to something more than just treading water in the AFC remains to be seen.