A lot of NFL pundits have questioned whether the Pittsburgh Steelers will have good enough quarterback play in 2025 to continue Mike Tomlin’s streak of non-losing seasons.
On Wednesday, though, former Steelers safety and ESPN commentator Ryan Clark argued Pittsburgh’s goal shouldn’t be to win this fall.
ESPN’s Ryan Clark Argues Steelers Should Want To Lose During 2025 NFL Season
There are few, if any, in the media industry who understand recent Steelers tradition better than Clark. The safety spent eight seasons in Pittsburgh, none of which were losing campaigns. Clark also started in two Super Bowls, winning one with the Steelers.
But Clark suggested it would be better for Pittsburgh’s long-term future to experience its first losing season under head coach Mike Tomlin in 2025.
“They should want to lose. I know this goes against everything that’s black and yellow. But they’ve been a competitive team for the entire time that Mike Tomlin has been there. But since Ben Roethlisberger got to like the last two or three years of his career, they were not a championship contender,” Clark said on ESPN’s “Get Up” on April 30.
My man Steelers Super Bowl champion Ryan Clark on the 2025 Steelers: “They should want to lose. They should want to suck.” Very compelling argument for ending this run high end mediocrity. Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/S2qiIs6Q9Q
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress)
“And they played just well enough to never get a high enough pick to go get the next Ben Roethlisberger. You’re not going to find that dude in free agency either.
“So whether it’s Mason Rudolph, whether it’s Aaron Rodgers, they should want to suck, finally. They should want to get a top 10 pick in a quarterback draft that looks to be a lot better next year than the one that was this year.”
The Steelers began 11-0 in Roethlisberger’s second-to-last season during 2020, so it’s difficult to say they weren’t a contender at Thanksgiving of that campaign.
My man Steelers Super Bowl champion Ryan Clark on the 2025 Steelers: “They should want to lose. They should want to suck.” Very compelling argument for ending this run high end mediocrity. Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/S2qiIs6Q9Q
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress)
But Clark’s overall point is true. Since 2021, the Steelers have been stuck in NFL purgatory. They haven’t been good enough to contend, as evidenced by three blowout losses in the first round of the playoffs over the past four seasons.
The Steelers, though, also haven’t been bad enough to earn a great draft pick to select the team’s next franchise quarterback.
In 2022, the top signal-caller of the draft, Kenny Pickett, fell to the team at No. 20 overall. But Pickett disappointed from both an eye-test and statistical standpoint, and the Steelers fulfilled a trade request from the quarterback last offseason.
Steelers Already Looking Ahead to 2026 QB Class
A few possible reasons exist as to why the Steelers didn’t take a signal-caller before drafting Ohio State’s Will Howard at No. 185 overall in the sixth round this year. The most obvious is what Clark alluded to — the weak quarterback draft class this spring.
The Steelers also expect to sign veteran Aaron Rodgers. While Rodgers is a controversial addition to some extent, he’s a “bridge quarterback” who could actually help the team do what Clark suggests — lose.
Rodgers, who turned 41 in December, hasn’t led a team to a winning record since his last Pro Bowl season in 2021.
However, Clark hinted at another factor — the 2026 quarterback class. Draft analysts are predicting next year to have a lot more NFL-ready quarterbacks than were available this spring.
The Steelers are never going to lose on purpose. They appeared to address roster needs outside of quarterback early in the 2025 NFL Draft, which is a good sign for the team.
But Tomlin and general manager Omar Khan don’t appear to be going all-in on winning a championship this upcoming season.
As Clark eloquently argued, it’d be better for Pittsburgh’s long-term needs if the team came up well short of the playoffs this fall.
