Even though the Steelers have a Super Bowl-winning head coach in Mike McCarthy after the Mike Tomlin era, the team is still dealing with the continuous quarterback issue. As the team waits for veteran Aaron Rodgers to make a choice regarding the upcoming season, it is unclear who will be the starting quarterback. Former NFL Network analyst Dave Dameshek publicly spoke out against the state of affairs in the midst of all this uncertainty.
Dave Dameshek shared a clip from the most recent Pittsburgh Pirates game on X, showing the audience applauding and cheering for the home team. He said, “Meanwhile, the Stale-lers are waiting on a 43-year-old weirdo to publicly announce what they’ve assumed to be true for the last 3 months. “
At the age of 21, Rodgers has been in the NFL for 21 years, but he only played one season at the Acrisure Stadium during the 2025 season. He had a successful season for the Yellow and Black, starting in 16 regular-season games.
Despite being 42 years old and no longer at his peak, he led the team to the AFC North championship with a 10-7 record, 3,322 passing yards, and 24 touchdowns. The franchise hopes to get his services for this season because of his high output and his long-standing relationship with Mike McCarthy, the new Steelers head coach.
The wait has been far too long, though, and if the veteran does decide to call it quits after his 21st season, the team still lacks a possible high-end quarterback option. Despite McCarthy’s earlier disclosure that they are frequently in contact and discussing the matter, he has not come to a conclusion in the past three months. He is also said to be seeking a substantial pay increase, maybe as much as $30 million, following his $13. 6 million season last year.
The Pirates, the Steelers’ MLB equivalent as compared by Dameshek, just made a statement move by promoting 19-year-old Konnor Griffin to the majors after only five Triple-A games, while the Steelers are still waiting for the Rodgers decision. Additionally, they took home the first series of 2026. Rodgers and Dameshek are taking opposing strategies, and Dameshek made a sarcastic remark about Rodgers after posting a recent video from the game.
If the 42-year-old doesn’t make a decision before this month’s NFL Draft, the team may look for a young quarterback who has recently completed his college football career.
Due to Aaron Rodgers’ delay, Carson Beck might be a potential quarterback candidate for the Steelers.
The Steelers have a lot of areas that need improvement, but the quarterback position has been in desperate need of assistance for the last several years. Aaron Rodgers was outstanding last year, but he was only a temporary fix, and he may retire this year. Since the franchise has the 21st overall pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, they could look for a signal caller, and one possible option is Miami Hurricanes’ Carson Beck.
Gerry Dulac, the Steelers Insider, said last week that “The Steelers have little intention of taking a quarterback with their No. 1 pick because they don’t believe there is another first-round quarterback after Fernando Mendoza. ” “However, one of the reasons they like Miami’s Carson Beck is because he has started 43 games, including his time when he won a national title at Georgia. “
Although Beck may not be as prestigious as Mendoza, his collegiate career for both Georgia and Miami is outstanding. In his six college seasons, he has remained a starter for the past three. With a fantastic completion percentage of 72. 4%, he threw for 3,813 yards in 16 games during the 2025 Miami campaign.
The Steelers may have the best chance of signing Beck if Rodgers retires because Kirk Cousins signed with the Raiders and there are no more great free agency QB options available.
Will Howard and Mason Rudolph, the team’s existing quarterback choices, are not reliable starters for the upcoming campaign. Rudolph is seen as a QB2, while Howard, a sixth-round selection in the 2025 Draft, has not yet played for the Steelers or made his NFL debut.
