Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy makes a telling joke about the quarterback situation behind Aaron Rodgers in Pittsburgh
The Steelers’ roster is overflowing with talent at the quarterback position, and someone will have to go, or will they?
Despite what some in the media may have you believe about Drew Allar, there are two certainties when it comes to the Pittsburgh Steelers QB room. Both Aaron Rodgers, the starter who has returned for a final season, and Allar have solidified spots.
The question becomes, who will be quarterback No.2 behind Rodgers? That, of course, will come down to Mason Rudolph and Will Howard, the latter of whom has the early edge in OTAs. But if you listen to head coach Mike McCarthy, he would like to find a way to keep all four on the roster.
Facts about Mike McCarthy
- Worked with Omar Khan at the New Orleans Saints.
- Coached Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers together in Green Bay.
- Had multiple 12-win seasons with the Dallas Cowboys.
Mike McCarthy makes jokes about the Steelers having four quarterbacks on the 2026 roster
“We have four. We’ve definitely got 4 we love. You always have to develop the room. We’re hoping Omar can get the roster expanded to 55 and we can keep 4,” McCarthy said at OTAs via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Christopher Carter on X-Twitter. “It’s a deep room, and it’s important having 4 guys who can play.”
A world where the Pittsburgh Steelers keep all four quarterbacks
So the easiest way to keep all four signal callers in Pittsburgh is by having your starter and backup on the active roster, having your quarterback No. 3 be the emergency player, and then cutting QB No. 4 and signing him to the practice squad.
The issue there, is that the Steelers would open themselves up to having that fourth-quarter backup poached from the squad, as any team can sign a practice squad player to their active roster whenever they please.
The other way is a little more tinfoil-hattish. Let’s say that the Steelers do truly want all four quarterbacks. The easiest thing to do to ensure they all stay is by having your trio, and then saying that the fourth player (likely Drew Allar in this case) suffered an injury that will put him on the injured reserve.
Would the Steelers actually consider doing that? I’m not quite sure. But they say there is always a little bit of truth in every joke, and it sure does seem like the Pittsburgh Steelers and Mike McCarthy want to keep four quarterbacks.