Former GM Wants Steelers Fans to Wait Even Longer for QB

The Pittsburgh Steelers' search for a franchise quarterback and true successor to Ben Roethlisberger has proven fruitless over the past four years since his retirement, and that quest could remain ongoing for the foreseeable future.

During an appearance on 93.7 The Fan earlier this week, former Steelers pro personnel coordinator and Buffalo Bills general manager Doug Whaley stated that he's looking towards the 2028 NFL Draft as the ideal time for Pittsburgh to find its next long-term signal caller.

"For me right now, it is two years from now. You have a freshman class, a redshirt freshman class of quarterbacks, there's like four or five of them, that are playing at an above-average to good level. And you just think, their maturation process by year three, when they're three years removed and eligible for the draft, that's going to be three years of worth of games," Whaley said. "So I would say, not this '26, '27, the '28 draft class. That's when I would be positioning to have as many as draft assets as possible."

The Steelers' Conundrum

It goes without saying that Pittsburgh more or less remaining in quarterback purgatory for the next two seasons is a fate that no one involved with the franchise wants to be resigned to.

Furthermore, that's certainly not the organization's plan considering it hired Mike McCarthy as its next head coach, who is not in place to oversee a rebuild over the next few years, to put it lightly.

Should the Steelers heed Whaley's advice and wait it out in hopes of finding a prospect behind center that they are enamored with in 2028, it could result in a long two-season stretch that puts the team firmly behind the eight ball.

That's not to say that Pittsburgh should reach for a signal caller in either of the next two drafts, as that's essentially how it saddled itself with the Kenny Pickett dilemma, but the organization can't wait around and simply hope it lucks into a supremely talented young quarterback without making an extreme effort to go out and find one first.

Whaley even suggested such a strategy, stating that there aren't any real negatives to selecting a signal caller in just about every draft.

"There is not a downside for drafting a quarterback, almost every single year," Whaley said. "You can always get, hopefully most of the time, a better return than what you invested in them.

Nov 16, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Will Howard (18) warms up before a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images | Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

Pittsburgh's Near-Term Outlook

With the day the 2026 class is shaping up, the Steelers aren't going to come away with some transcendent player behind center unless they see something in Alabama's Ty Simpson or Ole Miss' Trinidad Chambliss (should his appeal for an extra year of eligibility be denied).

In that case, 2025 sixth-round pick Will Howard and Aaron Rodgers, who is set to reach free agency in March, profile as the likeliest starters for the team next season.

Howard is still a complete unknown after suffering a hand injury in training camp last summer that landed him on the reserve/injured list for over half the season. He never ended up seeing any game action, but McCarthy seems to believe in what he offers, and perhaps he'll got his shot in the immediate future.

Jan 12, 2026; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) throws during the first half of an AFC Wild Card Round game against the Houston Texans at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

McCarthy was Rodgers' head coach with the Green Bay Packers from 2006 to 2018, and with a reunion between the two appearing to be firmly on the table, it wouldn't be the least bit surprising if the four-time MVP returned to Pittsburgh for one last hoorah before riding off into the sunset.

The 2027 class at the quarterback position looks somewhat promising with Texas' Arch Manning and Oregon's Dante Moore leading the way, as does 2028 like Whaley referred to with Michigan's Bryce Underwood and USC's Husan Longstreet, among others.

Again, though, if the Steelers really do wait until 2028 to take a top-end signal caller prospect for one reason or another, than they'll essentially just be treading water until they reach that point.

While it'd be ideal for all parties involved if Howard were to become a viable starter, that outcome simply can't be confidently forecasted, and Pittsburgh's only true path ahead for sustained success is finding a quarterback in the draft, but having to wait two more years to do so could have its consequences.

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