The Pittsburgh Steelers' decision to bring back Aaron Rodgers kept the offense largely intact. It also added a measure of stability at the position. For the first time since Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers will start the same quarterback in Week One in back-to-back seasons. However, not everyone shares this outlook, including some fans who preferred to move on. In fact, ESPN panned the decision and believes the Steelers should have gone a different direction.
When breaking down the Steelers' offseason, ESPN argued that the Steelers should have entered the Kyler Murray or Malik Willis sweepstakes.
"I understand the impulse to re-sign Rodgers and maintain a higher floor, but there was at least one realistic quarterback option who I felt was clearly superior -- Malik Willis, who comes with incredible upside. Kyler Murray would have been preferable, too, but he was unlikely to choose Pittsburgh over Minnesota. Adding Drew Allar in the third round was a worthwhile dart throw at quarterback for the future." ESPN reported.
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Calling Rodgers inferior is debatable, at best
There's no denying that Willis or Murray has a much higher ceiling than the current version of Rodgers. However, neither has a guarantee of panning out with his new team. Calling them "superior" is a stretch. Rodgers played in a very limited offense under former head coach Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Smith's offense relies on the run game to develop any semblance of a passing attack, and even then, the passing concepts were extremely limited. Rodgers also had limited weapons to work with.
Rodgers is only inferior to Willis and Murray in athletic ability. He can't move like he once did, but the arm talent is still there, for now. Most importantly, his veteran experience and football IQ aren't going anywhere in 2026. Willis and Murray both have strong arm talent but lack that same mental efficiency. Murray, as ESPN notes, lands in an excellent situation to keep developing with the Minnesota Vikings. Willis, on the other hand, could be in for a long season with the Miami Dolphins.
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Rodgers' return benefits the quarterback room's future
ESPN both hits and misses on a key point here: the Steelers' selection of Drew Allar. Allar was once a projected first-round pick, but a disappointing senior season with little visible progress quickly tanked his draft stock. His tools, however, didn't disappear. By pure chance, Allar now has the rare opportunity to develop behind a future Hall of Fame quarterback in Rodgers. Don't let the draft gurus fool you. Everyone says next year's draft class is loaded. They said the same thing last year. And the year before that.
If there's an ideal situation for head coach Mike McCarthy, this is it. He has a quarterback he knows well running his offense. He has two young quarterbacks with upside to develop. And he's leading an organization coming off a playoff season rather than working with a talent-starved roster.
ESPN makes a fair point that the Steelers probably should have explored other options more aggressively. Still, this move could pay off in both the short and long term. Ultimately, it comes down to McCarthy developing Allar or Will Howard as potential successors to Rodgers. If he can't get either of them into position to develop, then whether the Steelers pursued Murray or Willis wouldn't have mattered anyway.
