The Pittsburgh Steelers are still in the mix to sign Aaron Rodgers, potentially sitting as the last team in the sweepstakes to sign the future Hall of Famer. But they’re doing their due diligence on other quarterbacks beyond him, too.
Shedeur Sanders will visit the Steelers on Thursday, FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz reported Tuesday. Pittsburgh, who holds the 21st overall pick, is still very interested in potentially signing Rodgers, although it has also done extensive work on the quarterback prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft, according to Schultz.
The Colorado quarterback is widely regarded as one of the top two quarterback prospects in this year’s draft class. FOX Sports NFL Draft expert Rob Rang ranked Sanders as his No. 1 quarterback in the class and the 13th-best player overall. FOX Sports college football lead analyst Joel Klatt also has Sanders ranked as the best quarterback in the class, placing him at No. 8 on his big board.
The sentiment that Sanders is the top quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft doesn’t seem to be shared by a good number of NFL teams, though, or at least by the Tennessee Titans. Cam Ward is the heavy favorite to be the Titans’ selection when they make the No. 1 overall pick on April 24.
Even though the teams with the second (Cleveland Browns) and third (New York Giants) overall picks are in need of a longterm solution at quarterback, Sanders’ draft stock still seems to be in flux. Rang had the Browns selecting Sanders at No. 2 in his most recent mock draft on Tuesday, but Nick Wright of “First Things First” had Sanders slipping to the Steelers in his mock draft on Monday.
FOX Sports NFL writer Greg Auman also outlined the uncertainty surrounding Sanders’ draft stock on Tuesday, writing that the New Orleans Saints could be a fit for him with the No. 9 pick if he were to fall outside the top three. However, he also noted that there could be a scenario where he falls further than that and a team trades up to potentially draft Sanders before the Steelers are on the clock.
“The Browns and Giants, potentially having passed on Sanders at 2 and 3, might see enough value to justify trading up from the 33rd or 34th pick to grab him in the middle of the first round,” Auman wrote. “That could benefit the teams picking directly ahead of Pittsburgh — the Bucs at 19 or Broncos at 20. But a more willing trade partner might be the Falcons, who pick at 15 and have only three selections in the first six rounds. Cleveland and New York both have extra picks near the end of the third round, so we could see the Browns package picks 33, 67 and 94 to move up to 15.”
Pittsburgh has put itself in a tough position at quarterback ahead of the draft. The Steelers lost their two primary quarterbacks from last season – Russell Wilson and Justin Fields – in free agency while signing longtime backup Mason Rudolph was the only move they’ve made at the position. They have hosted Rodgers for a visit since he became a free agent, but there is still the possibility that the 41-year-old could retire this offseason.
Joel Klatt on Shedeur Sanders’ draft stock and the traits that separate him from other QBs
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said that he and Rodgers were still having a dialogue and that the team would be comfortable starting Rudolph if they had to when he met with reporters at the league meetings in late March.
Regardless of Rodgers’ decision, Pittsburgh is still without a longterm option at quarterback. The Steelers seem to be cognizant of that as well, with Sanders being the third quarterback that they’ll host for a visit ahead of the draft. Louisville’s Tyler Shough and Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart are the other two quarterbacks who have visited Pittsburgh before the 2025 NFL Draft.
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