The Pittsburgh Steelers are currently paralyzed by Aaron Rodgers’ offseason indecision. But Jerome Bettis sees a much bigger problem brewing for head coach Mike McCarthy. The Hall of Fame running back believes obsessing over the quarterback position is a massive trap if the rest of the roster remains fundamentally broken.
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Bettis recently joined the Post-Gazette’s “Chipped Ham and Football” podcast and delivered a blunt assessment of Pittsburgh’s current strategy. In his eyes, finding the right signal-caller won’t matter if the supporting cast continues to collapse under pressure.
“From a holistic standpoint, I think a lot of talk has been about the quarterback position,” Bettis said. “If you are in that draft room, you got to take a step back and you got to say we don’t have the necessary components to put around the quarterback.”
Pittsburgh’s 2025 campaign was defined by offensive stagnation. Rodgers provided stability, finishing with over 3,300 passing yards and 24 touchdowns, but the unit severely lacked explosiveness. The veteran relied heavily on checkdowns and short crossing routes, which naturally shrank the field for opposing defenses.
The offseason acquisition of DK Metcalf was supposed to fix that lack of big-play ability. Instead, the star receiver managed 850 yards and 6 scores before a two-game suspension for a fan altercation sidelined him late in the year.
When the passing attack faltered, the ground game failed to provide a safety net. The Steelers’ offense finished 2025 with a PFSN Offensive Impact Metric score of 76.4, ranking them 16th in the league. The cascading failures culminated in a brutal 30-6 home playoff loss to the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round.
“Last year, we thought we were going to be able to run the ball and we would ask Aaron Rodgers,” Bettis said. “He wouldn’t have to do too much. Couldn’t run the football. DK Metcalf got suspended. We had nobody who could catch the football. We were worried about throwing it. Who could we throw the football to?”
Bettis argues that Pittsburgh’s front office must prioritize insulating the quarterback before making a final decision at the position itself. Whether the Steelers convince Rodgers to return for another year or pivot to a rookie prospect, the environment needs an immediate upgrade.
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The Steelers have already taken steps to retool their backfield in free agency, a move Bettis explicitly praised. But as the NFL Draft approaches on April 23, he wants to see the organization target premium talent at four specific spots to stop the bleeding.
“Let’s not really worry about the quarterback position as much,” Bettis added. “Let’s get ready to help whatever quarterback we have because right now we weren’t helping whatever quarterback we had on the field.”
Bettis urged the team to draft the best available player at their biggest positions of need. He specifically highlighted the offensive line and wide receiver rooms as priorities, while noting that inside linebacker and the secondary should be the focal points on the defensive side of the ball.
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“I do believe you need to really address offensively the receiver position and the offensive line as well,” Bettis concluded.
The Steelers have a choice to make over the coming weeks. They can continue chasing a quick fix under center, or they can listen to their franchise legend and rebuild the foundation. A great quarterback can elevate an offense, but as Pittsburgh learned the hard way last season, he cannot block or catch the ball himself.
