The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the most talked about teams across the NFL during the 2025 offseason. This is mainly due to the large question mark at the quarterback position. The franchise is still pursuing Aaron Rodgers, and his only options moving forward seem to be signing in Pittsburgh, or retiring. A team like the Minnesota Vikings could also come along and bid for his services, but that seems like a longshot at this juncture. The Steelers have been trying to solidify the quarterback position all offseason long, and the organization has had no luck as Mason Rudolph is currently at the top of the depth chart.
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Former New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers nods to acknowledge someone speaking in his direction.
Team President Art Rooney II originally came out after the 2024 season ended and said that the franchise wanted to move forward with either Russell Wilson or Justin Fields as the starter. There was a significant effort made to re-sign Fields, but that cannot be said about Wilson. Fields chose to sign with the New York Jets, and the Steelers also took a swing at landing Matthew Stafford and Sam Darnold. Wilson was far down the list of options, and NFL insider Adam Schefter revealed on an episode of First Take on Thursday that Rooney has actually played a major role in the quarterback hunt.
"Ownership [has] been involved in all of this," Schefter said of the quarterback search. "They've been involved. They were in on Matthew Stafford. Let's not pass the ball to management, this is ownership too."
Naturally, General Manager Omar Khan has been taking a lot of heat for the current outlook of the quarterback position. Schefter made it clear to the viewers that the ownership was behind everything, which mainly means Rooney. When owners have their hand in the quarterback situation, it is usually for an ulterior motive, such as ticket or merchandise sales. There is a reason the only publicly owned team in the NFL, the Green Bay Packers, has had such a stable quarterback situation over the last 30 years.
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Steelers' Art Rooney II visits the field before a game against the Browns.
Owners want their team to be talked about on every sports show, and they constantly want their team in the limelight. A veteran quarterback like Stafford or Rodgers does exactly that, while ensuring the organization re-signed Fields likely would have been better for the future of the franchise.
Schefter spoke more about the Steelers' pursuit of Stafford, and how the organization was self-aware enough not to overpay.
"With Matthew Stafford, you know what, at some point in time early on, the Pittsburgh Steelers could have gone all-in and said, 'You know what? We're gonna give up our first-round pick,'" Schefter said. "Is that what they wanted to do? No. Not for a 37-year-old quarterback. But they could have done that. They opted not to. They did not offer that."
Stafford was testing the waters before he wound up agreeing to a new deal with the Los Angeles Rams, and Pittsburgh was one of the few teams that seemed to have a realistic shot of landing the veteran. It seemed to be all a ploy so Stafford could test his market value and the Rams could see how much draft capital they could gain -- so a trade never materialized. Either way, Pittsburgh was not comfortable giving up premium picks.
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Mike Tomlin, Omar Khan, and Art Rooney II speak to one another at training camp.
Steelers Need To Keep Art Rooney II Out Of The Quarterback Decision
The next couple decisions surrounding the quarterback position are going to be vital to the future of the franchise, and it is crucial that the Steelers have the right people making those decisions. Rodgers will most likely be the starter in 2025, but when it comes to drafting a quarterback come April, or in 2026, that decision needs to be made by Khan and the coaching staff. Especially if it involves making a large investment by trading up for a player.
What do you think about Rooney being so involved in the quarterback search? Let us know in the comments below!
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