Steelers Get Very Suprising Name As Backup Plan In Case Aaron Rodgers Sweepstakes Goes South

While the Pittsburgh Steelers have had a good offseason, making major upgrades to positions of need, one issue that won't seem to go away is the Aaron Rodgers situation. The franchise has stuck to its guns, wanting to bring Rodgers back for one more season, even General Manager Omar Khan insisted this time around it wouldn't take this long. Now that it is May, and the team is beginning Organized Team Activities soon, Rodgers is still nowhere to be found. They placed the UFA tender on Rodgers, but it's not guaranteed he comes back.

If Rodgers doesn't play, it will be up to either Mason Rudolph, Will Howard, or Drew Allar to fight for the starting spot. With Allar being a rookie third-round pick, he's at a severe disadvantage in winning the job, likely leaving it to Rudolph and Howard. Rudolph has started games in the past, even leading the Steelers to a playoff berth in 2023 after a three-game winning streak, but he hasn't been able to replicate that level of play since. Howard, on the other hand, was a sixth-round pick in 2025. He has not seen a lick of action outside of practice, but Head Coach Mike McCarthy insists Howard is a starter in the NFL, putting him in a position to compete for the job this season. 

Bleacher Report's Brad Gagnon recently wrote an article about the biggest questions in the NFL, with one of them being about the Steelers' quarterback situation. He mentions Steelers insider Gerry Dulac's report that patience may be running thin in the organization, and suggests a very interesting name that would likely leave Steeler Nation very disappointed. 

"The Steelers could soon find themselves scrambling to contact Jimmy Garoppolo," Gagnon wrote. 

Perhaps this would have been an intriguing thought one day, but after his run with the San Francisco 49ers and the Las Vegas Raiders, Jimmy Garoppolo has proven he's only as good as the team around him. Even with a great team, he still fell short in the big games, throwing a brutal interception in Super Bowl LIV that sealed the game for the Kansas City Chiefs. His starting spot would eventually be taken over by 2023's Mr. Irrelevant, Brock Purdy, who is now the seventh-highest-paid QB in the NFL. 

In 2023, Garoppolo joined the Raiders, where things only got worse. He won just three games, throwing seven touchdowns to nine interceptions. He was then benched in favor of rookie Aidan O'Connell, who remains a backup to this day. Now, in the past two seasons, Garoppolo has served as a backup for the Los Angeles Rams, meaning his time as a starter in the NFL is likely over for good. 

Steelers' Current Quarterbacks Are Probably Better Than Garoppolo

The quarterback room without Rodgers doesn't scare any team in the NFL; that wouldn't change if Garoppolo were added. He hasn't seen success in the NFL since 2022 and has started just seven games since then. All of the Steelers options are much younger and haven't had the injury toll that Garoppolo has. While they already know what they have in Rudolph, having plenty of game film, they have nothing on Howard or Allar, which is both scary and intriguing.

The thought of going into the season with two of the three quarterbacks never taking an NFL snap is a worrisome thought -- especially when they are later-round picks. Allar, with his big arm, and Howard seemingly having a higher floor, offer hope for Steelers fans that there's really no need for Garoppolo in Pittsburgh. He would likely not win over the fans, given the recency bias of older quarterbacks and the love for the younger players. If he wishes to be a starter again, the Steelers are likely not the team for him. 

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