The Steelers need a quarterback but chose to pass on Shedeur Sanders in the third round.
Instead, Pittsburgh selected running back Kaleb Johnson with the 83rd overall pick. The Steelers passing on Sanders seemed to indicate an optimism about Aaron Rodgers, but according to owner Art Rooney II, the 41-year-old wasn’t on the team’s mind.
“We really did not factor whether Aaron is coming or not into that,” Rooney said on Steelers Nation Radio, per The Athletic. “If we draft a quarterback — and we still might — it’s 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 if we draft a quarterback.”
The comment about the draft does raise interesting questions. Is Sanders in play at pick No. 123, or does a developmental quarterback mean the Steelers are eyeing someone like Quinn Ewers or Riley Leonard? Sanders will be the big story Saturday, and it would be an odd move if Pittsburgh left the 2025 NFL Draft without a QB.
Day 3 of the NFL draft kicks off noon ET with Pittsburgh in control of four picks.
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