PITTSBURGH — As his team passed on drafting a quarterback, including Shedeur Sanders, for the second time in the 2025 NFL draft, Steelers owner and president Art Rooney II said the team “may get word soon” on Aaron Rodgers.
“We’re still kind of getting the same signals that we’ve been getting recently,” Rooney told Steelers Nation Radio, the team’s flagship program, on Friday night. “He does want to come here, so I do think we may get word soon.”
In his radio appearance, made prior to the team’s selection of running back Kaleb Johnson in the third round, Rooney reiterated that Rodgers’ indecision about his future, which could include a range of outcomes from retirement to signing in Pittsburgh, would not impact their draft strategy.
And he also strongly suggested the Steelers were eyeing a more developmental quarterback prospect if they address the position through the draft.
“We really did not factor whether Aaron is coming or not into that,” Rooney said. “If we draft a quarterback — and we still might — probably not someone who’s going to start for us this year.
“It’s going to be somebody that will be developing and may play down the road. It’s not like somebody that’s going to have a big impact on this season.”
With the Steelers forgoing a quarterback with their lone Day 2 pick, the team could target Ohio State product Will Howard, Texas’ Quinn Ewers or Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard, all of whom the Steelers have thoroughly evaluated with pro day visits, in the final four rounds Saturday.
The Steelers also passed on a quarterback with their first-round pick, selecting Oregon defensive tackle Derrick Harmon at No. 21 overall.
“It doesn’t appear to be devoid of talent,” coach Mike Tomlin said of the quarterback class from NFL league meetings earlier this month. “I like a lot of the guys that I’ve met. Not only their tangible qualities, but their intangible qualities. And so I’m feeling really good about the trajectory of the group.”
The Steelers are scheduled to have a pick in each of the final rounds: No. 121, No. 156, No. 185 and No. 229.
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