The Pittsburgh Steelers' early 2026 offseason saw many changes. It quickly became a memorable one for the organization as they made headlines often. One area that is staying mostly the same however, is at the quarterback position, as Aaron Rodgers will be back for his second year with the team. This time around, he will reunite with his former head coach in Mike McCarthy. The pair will look to deliver a playoff win, and possibly more, for the first time in almost 10 years in the Steel City. One thing could be missing for them in that mission according to a former running back that wore the Black and Gold jersey.
Matt Freed / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Steelers' new head coach Mike McCarthy works with quarterback Aaron Rodgers in 2026.
Former running back Le'Veon Bell recently shared some of his thoughts on the current state of the organization, as well as what he believes they need in order to have success moving forward. The post came from Bell's TikTok account, as he cited some things he saw that he thinks can change in order to turn things around in Pittsburgh. Should the head coach and quarterback duo find apply it, they may be able to not just win a playoff game, but make a run in what Rodgers has said will be his final NFL season.
“For the Steelers to win, we need a coach and a quarterback to just care bro,” Bell said. “I’m telling you, Aaron Rodgers can’t just be nonchalant, bro. And not caring about, ‘I know the tight end was supposed to run an out, he ran an in. We’ll turn around and it fix it next week.’ No, fix it this week, stop saying the same things, fix it now.”
While it may not be for a lack of caring from the veteran quarterback, especially given how Bell put the caption "Steelers need a sense of urgency" in the post, the organization wants to quickly regain their playoff success of years past. One area in which they did show a sense of urgency came in the form of this 2026 offseason as mentioned, as the team made several proactive moves to add talent to the current roster. Their veteran quarterback will have some new tools in the toolbox in the form of Michael Pittman Jr. and Germie Bernard at wide receiver to try and improve their offense.
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Steelers' Aaron Rodgers with the offense during a loss to the Green Bay Packers at home in 2025.
Not everyone is buying the hype, however, as the wide receiver group was recently given a wake up call. Be that as it may, the wide receiver room is definitely better on paper entering the 2026 season than it was entering last year. That will still need to translate on the field, as they look for an improvement on offense in the upcoming NFL season.
Steelers Hoping Urgency Pays Off Immediately In 2026
While the team does have to deal with the constant noise of their playoff win drought, they had a greater approach this offseason than in those of the past. They did not wait around to go out and get players to try improving the roster from last year. Instead, they started making moves early and often, especially in the form of trading for Pittman with the Indianapolis Colts.
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Pittsburgh Steelers star WRs Michael Pittman Jr. (11) and DK Metcalf (4) during Organized Team Activities (OTAs) in 2026.
Now he will provide another big, physical body on the field with Metcalf as his running mate in the Pittsburgh offense for 2026. Running back Kenneth Gainwell turned out to be the team's second-leading receiver last season, despite his position on the depth chart. He also led the team in receptions, as he finished the year with 73 receptions.
The notion by Bell that their quarterback and head coach need to care may be a stretch. However, urgency is definitely something that can be improved, especially when it comes to the offense and their production.
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