With uncertainty surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starting quarterback role, franchise legend James Harrison suggested Cincinnati Bengals icon Joe Burrow as a solution, drawing some harsh criticism. Harrison, via his Deebo & Joe podcast, revealed his recent conversations with the Bengals quarterback. However, Cincinnati legend Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones shut down this attempt to recruit Burrow, calling out Harrison for his actions.

“Let me tell y’all something. I love Jay. I love Jay H,” Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones said in his latest Instagram story. “There ain’t no question about it. But man, stop doing that sh–t, man. You know what it is over here. It’s orange and black, not sh–ty and black. I’m going to say that, and I’m going to leave it at that.”

The biggest reason for Jones’ harsh comments is his love and adoration for the Bengals after appearing in over 100 games. As a cornerback and return specialist in Cincinnati, Jones recorded 12 interceptions, one touchdown, 352 combined tackles, and six tackles for loss. He was also named to the Pro Bowl in 2015 and served as a key defensive player throughout his time in the orange and black.

Hence, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been Jones’ biggest rivals. Furthermore, Pacman and the Bengals were 3-13 against the Steel City, and hence losing the team’s most important player to such a fierce rival provoked him to say, “stop doing that sh–t, man,” when James Harrison revealed he had been trying to recruit Joe Burrow to the Steelers.

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“I’ve been doing a lot of talking to Joe Burrow,” Harrison said on his Deebo & Joe podcast. “I’ve been conversing with him on a weekly, bi-weekly basis. I talked to him on the phone yesterday. We’ve been talking about him, you know, going up there and talking to Mr. Brown to see what he needs to do… to maybe get in some black and gold.”

The LSU product could emerge as the perfect signal-caller for Pittsburgh, who have struggled to find a long-term solution at that position since the retirement of franchise legend Ben Roethlisberger. After Big Ben’s retirement, the Steelers have opted for stop-gap options at quarterback with the likes of Kenny Pickett, Mitchell Trubisky, Mason Rudolph, Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, and Aaron Rodgers while failing to win a single postseason game.

Hence, a proven quarterback like Joe Burrow, with his 20,810 yards and 157 touchdowns in six seasons, could be the missing piece for the Steelers. While Burrow ditching the Bengals for Pittsburgh appears to be a distant dream, Ben Roethlisberger has presented a plan for his beloved Steelers, involving an in-house quarterback option for the franchise.

Roethlisberger wants the Steelers to build around Will Howard

After a solid season with 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers as the QB1, the Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves dealing with the same problem the franchise has struggled with since Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement in 2021. Hence, to avoid another year of mediocrity, Big Ben has issued a suggestion for Art Rooney II and Co. about how they should build around backup quarterback Will Howard moving forward.

“If [Aaron Rodgers] decides, ‘Hey, I’m done. I’m gonna do my thing,’ I would absolutely still not draft a guy in the first round. I would ride with Will Howard for a couple of years, give him a chance, keep building this team around him,” Roethlisberger said via Deebo & Joe on YouTube. “I would go O-line first in the draft, get a guard, and I would just absolutely build this team around Will Howard right now.” And if it doesn’t work, guess what? In two years, the draft is loaded with quarterbacks. Go get a guy in the first round because it didn’t work with Will. You’re probably going to be drafting higher.”

Will Howard was a beast throughout his 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. Hence, he could very well be the quarterback who kick-starts the Steelers’ rebuild.

Now the onus is on new Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy and the Pittsburgh front office to decide whether to bring back a veteran like Aaron Rodgers for one more season or move forward with an unproven talent like Will Howard to usher in this new era for the franchise.