Steelers reject $37 million quarterback decision amid Aaron Rodgers saga

The waiting may never end for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Is Aaron Rodgers, or any other veteran QB, walking through that door?

NFL insider James Palmer recently clarified one step of the process recently on his podcast.

Palmer broke down the idea that the Steelers could wind up with Kirk Cousins if they don't get Rodgers. And Palmer's view is basically this: Don't count on it.

Cousins is owed more than $27 million for 2025 and then needs to be paid his $10 million bonus for 2026 if he's acquired in a trade from the Falcons, per Palmer.

"Unless the Falcons are able to eat the majority of that money, I don’t think Kirk Cousins and the Steelers are a match," Palmer said.

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Atlanta could offer to take on a lot of that money, but the Falcons don't have a ton of incentive to do so. Because their starting QB, Michael Penix Jr., is on his rookie deal, their overall outlay to their quarterback room isn't actually that different from the rest of the league, it's just more heavily allocated to the backup position.

The Steelers might wind up paying Rodgers a similar amount to that $37 million or a bit more, but that's to land a future Hall of Famer and not a guy who led the NFL with 16 interceptions last season and was benched down the stretch.

Most NFL reporters seem to have suggested this week that a Rodgers deal is still likely to happen with Pittsburgh.

But it hasn't happened yet, and so everyone waits with a little bit of uncertainty still to see who the Steelers will end up starting at quarterback in 2025.

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