The Pittsburgh Steelers entered last Thursday’s NFL draft in need of a quarterback and in the first round, they looked elsewhere with their No. 21 overall selection.
Pittsburgh drafted Oregon defensive tackle Derrick Harmon, which came off as a surprising move considering Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders was left on the board. Sanders, the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, met with the Steelers before the draft and spoke highly of wideouts DK Metcalf and George Pickens. Since Pittsburgh had no update on free agent Aaron Rodgers, everything aligned for the Steelers to select Sanders.
That didn’t happen, and it left many in shock, including former Pittsburgh safety Ryan Clark.
“He’s a good player,” Clark said on draft night. “Mason Rudolph? Mason Rudolph? He went to Tennessee and got worse! You know what we’re gonna do? Oh, let’s wait for Aaron. Wait for Aaron to make a decision. We let Aaron Rodgers hold us hostage like we’re a four. We the Pittsburgh Steelers! We’re supposed to be acting like a 10. We acting like a four.”
It’s been over five weeks since Rodgers met with the Steelers. Still, the leading candidate for Pittsburgh’s starting signal-caller gig remains Rudolph. That’s not a promising sign for a team that hasn’t won a playoff game in nine years and committed a five-year, $150 million contract extension to retain Metcalf. Nearly everyone who tuned in on draft night saw Sanders left on the board and saw the Steelers were on the clock, expected the organization to snag the 23-year-old.
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The Cleveland Browns instead selected Sanders with the 144th pick in the fifth round.
Pittsburgh will continue to await a response from Rodgers as the saga with the 41-year-old continues. If the Steelers reach the point of rejection from Rodgers, their quarterback dilemma will take a dramatic turn for the worse.
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