Steelers best option following Aaron Rodgers’ final season is obvious

The Steelers do not need another quarterback lottery ticket after Aaron Rodgers walks away from the NFL. They need Baker Mayfield. Rodgers has said there is “zero debate” that 2026 will be his final NFL season, and Pittsburgh brought him back on a one-year deal worth up to $25 million. That gives the Steelers one last run with Rodgers. It also gives them one full year to stop pretending their next quarterback must come from the draft.

Mayfield is entering the final season of the three-year, $100 million contract he signed with Tampa Bay. Extension talks have not been close, according to NFL Network, despite a résumé that now includes a 4,500-yard, 41-touchdown season in 2024.

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That should have Pittsburgh’s attention

Mayfield is not the clean, quiet, corporate quarterback some organizations prefer. Good. Neither is Pittsburgh. This is a franchise built around weather, defense, impatience and a fan base that can smell hesitation before the quarterback finishes his drop.

Would Mayfield cost real money? Absolutely. That is the tradeoff. The Steelers could pay a proven starter in his early 30s, or they could spend another spring talking themselves into the third-best quarterback available because they are drafting too late to control the board.

We have seen that movie already. It usually ends with a veteran bridge, a nine-win season and another January spent watching serious contenders.

Mayfield would give Pittsburgh something it has lacked since Ben Roethlisberger declined: a quarterback with enough arm, toughness and personality to own the offense rather than merely operate it. He has already rebuilt his career once. He has won in the playoffs. He does not look intimidated by a messy pocket or an uncomfortable fourth quarter.

The Buccaneers still have time to keep him. But if they let Mayfield reach the 2027 market, the Steelers should not overthink this. Rodgers is the final swing at the past. Mayfield should be the first real plan for what comes next.

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