After signing Mike McCarthy as their new head coach, the Pittsburgh Steelers are gearing up for a new era in the franchise’s history. With this change, the Steelers have decided to move forward with an offensive mindset after a 19-year run with Mike Tomlin. As Pittsburgh and McCarthy navigate this new direction, Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger has made a clear demand about how the franchise should move forward with its quarterback situation.

“I think a lot of teams want to put a quarterback in and then build around the quarterback. I would go the opposite direction,” Roethlisberger said during an appearance on the In the Locker Room podcast. “I would like to build a team and then stick a quarterback in it, kind of like what happened for me. We had a really good team when I came in, a lot of veteran guys, offense, and defense, and I just got kind of stuck in it, which was great.”

When Ben Roethlisberger entered his rookie season, he started strongly and led the Steelers to a 15-1 record and an AFC Championship appearance.

This was possible because Pittsburgh already had a plethora of All-Pro players on offense, including wideout Hines Ward, guard Alan Faneca, and center Jeff Hartings, as well as on defense, including linebacker James Farrior and safety Troy Polamalu, among others.

These veterans in the locker room helped Big Ben develop as one of the best quarterbacks in the league in a shorter period, which led the Steelers to win the Lombardi trophy immediately in his second season.

Pittsburgh adopting this approach is likely the way forward in this new McCarthy era.

After presenting his former team with a plan for the upcoming campaign, Ben Roethlisberger then shared his thoughts on who should lead this offense on the field.

Ben Roethlisberger weighs in on the Steelers’ future

So far, several reports have revealed that the Steelers are eyeing bringing back Aaron Rodgers for one more season. Whereas there’s a lot of speculation around Will Howard emerging as the signal-caller if the veteran doesn’t return. Addressing these options, Ben Roethlisberger listed out how both possibilities could work out for the Steel City.

“With Mike McCarthy being here, I think that definitely gives Aaron Rodgers more like it perks his ears to potentially come back, right? Which I don’t think is the worst thing in the world. I think he, you know, and he’ll know this offense. I think that’s huge,” Roethlisberger said.

Rodgers had a solid 2025 season as he recorded 3,322 yards, 24 touchdowns, and just seven interceptions. While A-Rod could help the franchise continue contending for one more season, he isn’t the future of the Steelers. Hence, Big Ben wants Pittsburgh to back the 185th overall pick of the 2025 NFL draft, Will Howard.

“I’m a big believer in Will Howard,” Roethlisberger said. “I think that he needs to get a chance. There’s just something about him. I think Pittsburgh is going to love him. Like he’s blue collar, he’s tough, he wants to win, and he’s got a desire for this city. I just think that could be really something interesting.”

Will Howard had a highly productive college career, which culminated in a standout 2024 season at Ohio State University. He threw for 4,010 yards, 35 touchdowns, and seven rushing scores while completing 73% of his passes to lead the Buckeyes to a national championship.

Now the decision will be in the hands of new head coach Mike McCarthy, who hopes to end his hometown’s playoff woes and bring the Lombardi Trophy back to Pittsburgh.