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Breaking Down 12 External Quarterback Options for the Steelers
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- Breaking Down 12 External Quarterback Options for the Steelers
For the third straight offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers are staring at a fairly bleak situation when it comes to the team's outlook at the quarterback position.
And for once — it's not because the Steelers don't have the resources to make it happen. The Steelers are picking at No. 21 in the 2026 NFL Draft , they have a total of 12 draft picks, including four in the top 100, to trade up with, and they have the eight-most salary cap space of any NFL team.
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The problem is, there's basically no one to use all those resource on.
The 2026 NFL Draft has just two consensus first-round picks — one will be taken at No. 1 overall, with Fernando Mendoza expected to go to the Las Vegas Raiders .
The free agent class isn't much better, with just one player that finished the season as his team's starter currently slated to hit free agency, few backups that look like they could do more, and a trade market full of awful contracts.
For those reasons, Aaron Rodgers looks to be the leader in the clubhouse when it comes to returning to the Steelers in 2026. But what if the mercurial vet decides to pivot to his post-playing career instead? Here's the best of the bad bunch of external options facing the Steelers this offseason:
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Daniel Jones , Indianapolis Colts , Free Agent
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Nov. 2, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Why it would work: Daniel Jones had a solid season n 2024, looking to be the latest quarterback following in the mold of Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold to resurrect their correct after they got out of the clutches of the bottom dweller that made them a high draft pick.
Why it won't work:Jones is coming off a gruesome Achilles injury that will hinder his availability this offseason — a big deal for a quarterback changing teams. A report by Stephen Holder of ESPN on Tuesday suggested that the Colts are committed to re-signing Jones, and that he's eager to return to Indianapolis, where he shined in the scheme of head coach Shane Steichen.
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Malik Willis , Green Bay Packers , Free Agent
Green Bay Packers quarterback Malik Willis (2) throws during the third quarter of their game against the Baltimore Ravens Saturday, December 27, 2025 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisc. — Mark Hoffman / Imagn ImagesCredit: Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Why it would work: Malik Willis is clearly the head-and-shoulder best option that seems likely to hit the free agent market. With Jordan Love entrenched as a starter in Green Bay , Willis will parlay his success as a backup along with his very intriguing athletic profile to be someone's starting quarterback.
Why it won't work:Willis' status as the lone expected quality free agent option might make him very, very expensive. ESPN's Ben Solak suggests that Willis could land a contract between $20 and $33 million per year. That's a pretty significant risk for a player that has six career games started. There's a long history of NFL backup quarterbacks getting big contracts after shining in minimal playing time, and many of them those contracts have become notable albatrosses.
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Tua Tagovailoa , Miami Dolphins , Cut/Trade Candidate
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Dec. 15, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Why it would work: Tua Tagovailoa is just two years removed from a 4,600-yard Pro Bowl performance in 2023, and in his last four seasons, has had a passer rating over 101.
Why it won't work: The worst of his last four seasons was in 2025. Tagovailoa has a downright scary concussion history and is owed $70 million over the next two seasons, with rolling guarantees meaning that if he plays for a team this year, next year's salary guarantees. If the Dolphins get desperate enough to cut him, the salary becomes a benefit and not a detriment, as they'll be on the hook for everything other than the minimum.
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Kyler Murray , Arizona Cardinals , Cut/Trade Candidate
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Dec. 3, 2023 — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Why it would work: Kyler Murray was a two-time Pro Bowler earlier in his career with the Arizona Cardinals. He's a phenomenal athlete, and would give the Steelers a running component they haven't had in a regular starter since Kordell Stewart.
Why it won't work:Murray is 5-foot-10 and four-tenths of an inch shorter than Russell Wilson , the current shortest quarterback to ever win a Super Bowl. He's also no longer young at 29, and has played a full season of football just once in the last five years. His salary if traded is $42.5 million
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Mac Jones , San Francisco 49ers , Trade Candidate
New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones winds up to pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
Why it would work:A former first-round pick, Mac Jones has gone through the same kind of career rehab process as Darnold, Jones and Mayfield, hooking up with a coach from the McVay/Shanahan Tree (in this case, Kyle Shanahan and Klay Kubiak in San Francisco ) and playing well in a short look in 2025 while Brock Purdy was injured. Purdy has a massive contract and isn't going anywhere, so the next step for Jones is to try to get traded somewhere he can start.
Why it won't work:Jones is under contract for the 2026 season at an extremely low price, and San Francisco really doesn't want to trade him. If they were to be persuaded, the acquisition cost would likely be high. There's no guaranteed that the Steelers would be getting the eight games of Jones in San Francisco (97.4 passer rating, 69.6 completion percentage, 6.67 ANY/A) instead of the Jones from his first three seasons with the New England Patriots (85.8 passer rating, 66.1 completion percentage, 5.47 ANY/A), so Jones represents a big risk.
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Ty Simpson , Alabama Crimson Tide, Rookie
Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson (15) looks to pass during the fourth quarter against the Georgia Bulldogs during the 2025 SEC Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Dec 6, 2025. — Brett Davis/Imagn ImagesCredit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Why it would work:After Mendoza, Ty Simpson is clearly the next-best quarterback in the draft class. He's been seen as a potential first-round pick since breaking out in the first half of the 2025 season with Alabama. He has solid measurables, a strong arm, and currently looks like he'll be available to the Steelers, sitting at No. 29 on the NFL Mock Draft Database consensus big board.
Why it won't work:After that hot start, Simpson struggled mightily in the second half of the the season, and as a one-year starter, there isn't a lot of tape to backstop that slide. Despite his inexperience, he's not young, and will turn 24 in his rookie season. While rated the back half of the first round, we've seen many, many quarterbacks like that taken way up the draft board, and there's a decent chance he won't even get to the Steelers.
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Kirk Cousins , Atlanta Falcons , Cut Candidate
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) walks to the line during the second half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Atlanta. The Chargers defeated the Falcons 17-13. — AP Photo/Danny Karnik
Why it would work: Kirk Cousins played pretty well with the Minnesota Vikings in 2023, and it's hard to blame him for failing to find success in a bad situation in Atlanta . He will be largely free after getting cut by the Falcons.
Why it won't work:He hasn't played a full season since 2022, and the Achilles injury really seemed to sap whatever mobility he had left. He's 38 years old. Even his accuracy seemed to wane in 2025, when he posted a 61.7% completion percentage.
Justin Fields , New York Jets , Cut/Trade Candidate
New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields during a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 7, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Why it would work: Justin Fields was largely fine here as a fill-in starter in 2024. The Steelers wanted him back, but the New York Jets overpaid. Fields was well-liked among his teammates and would probably be welcomed back.
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Why it won't work:Fields is under contract for 2026 and the Jets don't have a lot of better of options. They also tried to bench him for Tyrod Taylor last year.
Geno Smith , Las Vegas Raiders, Cut/Trade Candidate
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Aug. 14, 2022. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Why it would work: Geno Smith very much fits the mold of the Steelers' last two plug-and-play quarterback options, and they were actually disappointed they didn't get a chance to make an offer to trade for him last year when he went from the Seattle Seahawks to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Why it won't work:Smith was so bad that the Raiders have the No. 1 overall pick, he threw an NFL-leading 17 interceptions, and posted and embarrassingly low 4.44 ANY/A. He's still under contract in Las Vegas and they may want him to help mentor Mendoza.
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Will Levis , Tennessee Titans , Trade Candidate
Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Nov. 2, 2023. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Why it would work: Will Levis was a second-round pick coming out of Kentucky and Penn State and showed a bit of promise as a young quarterback. He has a strong arm, prototypical size for the position and functional athleticism. Levis is blocked by Cam Ward in Tennessee, and the Titans may feel better off with a more traditional mentor and veteran backup.
Why it won't work:Levis never progressed beyond the way he looked on his first day in a season and a half as the Tennessee Titans' starter, and he was so bad that he helped them finish with the No. 1 overall pick to draft his successor with. His career 21 to 16 touchdown to interception ratio is terrifying.
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Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts, Cut/Trade Candidate
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 29, 2024. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Why it would work: Anthony Richardson is an incredible athlete with a very strong arm. The Colts traded away their first-round pick for Sauce Gardner and would probably like to replenish their draft stock.
Why it won't work:Richardson is one of the least-accurate quarterbacks in recent NFL history. Only four players have had a worse career completion percentage since 2000. There were significant questions about his toughness and leadership in his time as Indy's starter. He's also owed $10 million, so the Colts would probably have to eat some money to facilitate a trade.
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Joe Flacco , Cincinnati Bengals , Free Agent
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Oct. 16, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Why it would work: Joe Flacco has already played for every other AFC North team and he wasn't completely awful when he played for the Cincinnati Bengals last season.
Why it won't work: Flacco is 41, hasn't had a passer rating over 91 since 2021. The one-time deep-ball and DPI merchant averaged just 7.3 intended air yards per attempt in 2025, and was still sacked on an NFL-high 4.15% of his drop backs.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Breaking Down 12 External Quarterback Options for the Steelers
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