Pittsburgh Steelers predicted to add formerTitans starting QB as Aaron Rodgers saga lingers

The Tennessee Titans didn’t overthink anything as the months turned into weeks and the weeks turned into days before the 2025 NFL Draft. 

While they reportedly received multiple trade requests from quarterback-needy teams, the Titans stayed at No. 1 overall. With first-year GM Mike Borgonzi— who has been a key executive in the Kansas City Chiefs front office since 2009 — now responsible for the Tennessee Titans roster, it’s clear he understood they needed to lock down the answer at the most important position in all of sports. 

The Titans are banking on Cam Ward, who threw for 4,313 yards, 39 touchdowns and just seven interceptions for the Miami Hurricanes last year. Ward spent the previous two seasons at Washington State, where he became one of the hottest quarterbacks in the transfer portal after throwing for more than 7,000 yards and 47 touchdowns when he finished the 2023 campaign for the Cougars. 

Unlike last year’s QB class with several players considered day one starters like Jayden Daniels, Caleb Williams, Bo Nix, JJ McCarthy and Michael Penix Jr., there wasn’t a clear consensus when it came to the top quarterback of the 2025 class. 

While most NFL talent evaluators pegged Ward in the No. 1 spot and predicted he would get selected by the Titans, a few of the biggest draft experts including Mel Kiper Jr. had a much different take that now feels controversial consider how it all played out. 

Kiper never wavered from his rankings, that had Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders as his top QB of the 2025 class over Ward. Ultimately, the son of NFL Hall of Fame CB Deion Sanders shockingly fell to the 5th round when the Cleveland Browns finally called his name, but the ESPN analyst didn’t hold back on the live broadcast as each team passed on the former Buffaloes signal caller. 

"The NFL has been clueless for 50 years when it comes to evaluating quarterbacks," Kiper said. "Clueless. They have no idea what they're doing in terms of evaluating quarterbacks. That's proof (Sanders falling). There's proof of that. We know exactly what we're talking about with quarterbacks, they don't."

Only time will tell if Ward will thrive for the Titans, or if they will regret passing on Sanders, but they needed to make a significant move after last year’s disaster with Will Levis as the starter. 

Levis flashed potential at times, but played inconsistently and often carelessly. Ultimately, the Tennessee Titans only won three games with him as the starting QB which gave them the No. 1 overall pick to be able to select Ward. 

With the Aaron Rodgers situation still in limbo when it comes to the Steelers, Bleacher Report believes Pittsburgh will trade with the Titans for Levis before the start of the 2025 season as an insurance policy with the hope he could sit behind Rodgers for a year and develop. 

Regardless of Aaron Rodgers' decision to play for the Steelers or retire, Pittsburgh should offer a fourth-round pick for Levis. Rodgers will turn 42 in December. At this point, he's a year-to-year player. Levis has two years left on his rookie deal.

If the Steelers finish the 2025 season with a mediocre record and Rodgers only sticks around for one year, they would at least have an experienced young starter in Levis, whom they can develop for the long term. In seven seasons, Mason Rudolph has been a game manager. At 25, Levis, with his big arm and mobility, has far more upside.