With the cramped Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback room jammed with four starting-caliber players, the Steelers have a problem. With the 53-man roster rule starting this season, keeping all four players, including veteran Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, Will Howard, and Drew Allar, will be a major task for the team. The lack of a consistently productive QB after Ben Roethlisberger left has caused issues in Pittsburgh. However, head coach Mike McCarthy may just have received a rather innovative, albeit questionable plan of action from an analyst.

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review analyst Joe Starkey suggested an unconventional way to solve the Steelers’ quarterback problem last week in a July report on the website.

“I suppose the Steelers could invent an injury for somebody and put them on IR, or try to pass Howard through waivers and onto the practice squad. We’ll see,” Starkey said.

If the Steelers used that idea, they could create space on the roster until the quarterback room becomes less crowded. However, that player would then have to miss at least four games, making it impractical. So, the team can trade one of their players, too, to create more room for the QBs.

Starkey was obviously being humorous, as he is certainly aware his idea would not work in real life. An NFL team cannot pretend that a healthy player is injured just to free up a roster spot. A player can only go on the Injured Reserve if he has a real football-related injury that keeps him from playing. Teams also have to give the NFL honest injury reports. If the league finds out that a team has provided false information about a player’s injury, it can investigate and punish the team. If McCarthy had it his way, the Steelers wouldn’t need to lie – he would retain all four QBs.

Back in May, the head coach made it clear that he is happy to keep all four quarterbacks if the roster rules allow him, per NFL.com.

“We definitely got four that we love. I can say that you always have to develop the room; that’s always been the approach. So, we’re hoping Omar [Khan] can get the roster expanded to 55, and we can keep four. But it’s a really good room. This is a good place to be, having four guys that can play.”

But not everyone is equally secure in the QB room. Rodgers is locked in. He signed a one-year deal worth up to $25 million. The Steelers also are not expected to release Drew Allar, as he is viewed as a long-term project to solve the Steelers’ QB issues. That leaves Will Howard and Mason Rudolph fighting for the last quarterback spot. Without Starkey’s controversial approach, one will have to go.

This being Rodgers’ last year in the NFL before retirement, he is bound to start. But that could be the very issue the Steelers are dealing with.

Pittsburgh Steelers face issues with starting QB

Former New York Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum does not believe Aaron Rodgers can lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to Super Bowl LXI in LA.

“The only way he’s going to LA is if he flies there,” Tannenbaum said about Rodgers. “[The Steelers] are the third-best team in the division. I think Cincinnati is greatly improved. You have the Baltimore Ravens.”

One reason for Tannenbaum’s skepticism is that Rodgers threw mostly short passes last season while starting 16 games. His average pass traveled only 6.37 yards down the field, one of the lowest marks of his career. His QB rating fell to 44.4, his lowest after 2022 (41.3) and his second year in the league, 2006 (7.9). Regardless of this, the Steelers finished the 2025 season with a record of 10-7, first in the AFC North. The Ravens finished with a record of 8-9, and the Cincinnati Bengals ended up at 6-11.

But Rodgers’ last game in the 2025 postseason was concerning. The Steelers lost 30-6 to the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round. Rodgers finished with just 146 passing yards, was sacked four times, and also lost a fumble that the Texans returned for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Pittsburgh added DK Metcalf and Rico Dowdle, but these moves may not be enough to fix the offense. It might not be enough with what we have seen from Rodgers’ last performance.

Even though the Steelers still have Rodgers at quarterback, Jaylen Warren at running back, and DK Metcalf as their top wide receiver, CBS Sports was not impressed with that group. In its annual “triplets” rankings, which compare every NFL team’s starting quarterback, main running back, and top pass catcher, CBS Sports ranked the Steelers’ offensive trio 27th out of 32 teams.

Now, as the Steelers face significant challenges heading into the 2026 season, it will be interesting to see how the quarterback room looks ahead of the opening games.