Former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher thinks the team will consider bringing in Aaron Rodgers at quarterback in 2025, citing a needed level of urgency to compete with aging defensive stars Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt .
Rodgers will not return to the New York Jets in 2025 , with the Jets likely to cut the 41-year-old four-time MVP. That will leave him as a free agent, and while Rodgers could contemplate retirement, he could also be looking for a home for one last season.
That could be a fit for the Steelers, Cowher thinks, because they may want another chance to let Heyward and Watt chase a title.
"I think there's gotta be a sense of urgency of taking some guys on the backend of their careers, T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward," Cowher said in an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show on Tuesday . "They're in the latter stages of their career. They want to win now. And that's a big part of what they want to do."
Steelers president Art Rooney II said his first intention thus offseason is to sign o ne of the team's two returning starting quarterbacks in Russell Wilson and Justin Fields to a multi-year contract.
It's been widely reported that the team would prefer Fields of those two options, with some saying there's little chance Wilson will be back. Wilson himself has remained confident that there's a path to return to Pittsburgh , and has rejected rumors that he could reunite with his former head coach Pete Carroll, now with the Las Vegas Raiders .
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers during a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Oct. 20, 2024. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Despite a preference for Fields, the Steelers could consider Rodgers if Fields is dead-set on hitting the free agent market, or has contract demand that the team feels is beyond what they're willing to pay.
"I don't know where they are right now in terms of their quarterback situation with Russell, and Justin, and Aaron," Cowher said. "I think a decision has to be made. What's the future plan and what's the plan in the interim? … "I think they'll be dialogue there. But those will be conversations taking place in that building."
The Steelers do not seem interested in taking another early round quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft, after missing on picking Kenny Pickett three years ago. It's not a good quarterback class, especially for a team picking in the back of the first round, with just two players projected to go in the first 30 picks, and both of them in the top five.
With the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, and a much deeper quarterback class expected for next year's selection, the Steelers could be looking for a one- or two-year bridge to their next potential quarterback, and that might be appealing for Rodgers, who is undoubtedly not a long-term option for anyone at this point in his career.
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