Steelers rumor could lead to Pittsburgh drafting 28-TD quarterback to replace Aaron Rodgers

In an ideal world for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the franchise would retain Aaron Rodgers for another season and temporarily resolve their nagging starting quarterback issue. 

Still, it's well-documented that the Steelers will need to replace the 42-year-old signal-caller at some point in time. A recent rumor suggests the Steelers could draft a 28-touchdown quarterback rather than placing their faith in Will Howard as Rodgers' eventual successor. 

“I hope they’re trying to keep their cards close to the vest and hope that Ty Simpson slips to them,” Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio said Monday. “All that Will Howard stuff is just smoke.”

"I think they’d like to get Ty Simpson and Aaron Rodgers, based on some stuff I’ve heard,” Florio said. “I think they’d like to get Ty Simpson and Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers plays for one more year, then Simpson takes over.”

Simpson enjoyed a successful junior season at Alabama, finishing the year with 3,657 passing yards, 28 touchdowns, five interceptions, and an appearance in the 2026 College Football playoff (the Crimson Tide defeated Oklahoma in the first round before falling to Indiana in their next contest).

There’s no question that Simpson possesses a gifted arm and impressive ball placement chops, whether he’s dissecting defenses in the pocket or throwing on the move. 

That said, the 23-year-old signal caller can run into trouble when he attempts to play hero ball and extend plays that should have ended seconds ago with a simple throw-away pass. 

Simpson endured 28 sacks and lost six fumbles during the 2025-26 college football season. Still, the Steelers could decide that Simpson has a far higher upside than Howard and anoint Simpson as their quarterback of the future.

It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of Pittsburgh’s offseason unfolds.

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