“For Ty Simpson to be able to learn from,” Jason McCourty talks about Aaron Rodgers and Pittsburgh Steelers’ QB future
Aaron Rodgers has not decided on 2026, and Ty Simpson is now part of the Steelers conversation.
- Aakash Chatterjee
- 5 min read
What began as a short television take on ESPN’s Get Up quickly widened into a broader quarterback conversation around the Pittsburgh Steelers, Aaron Rodgers and Alabama prospect Ty Simpson. Jason McCourty’s remark arrived at a moment when Pittsburgh is still waiting on Rodgers’ decision for 2026, Ty Simpson remains one of the more debated quarterbacks in this draft class, and the Steelers are trying to define their next season under new head coach Mike McCarthy.
Aaron Rodgers’ future has become one of the defining questions of the Steelers’ offseason. Rodgers remains the established veteran whose decision could shape Pittsburgh’s immediate plans, while Simpson represents the kind of young quarterback prospect teams study when they are trying to protect themselves against instability at the position.
The Steelers are therefore not just being discussed as a possible destination. They are being examined as a team caught between urgency and succession, a tension that now defines much of the conversation around them. What made McCourty’s remark notable was not simply the mention of two quarterbacks in the same breath, but the framework behind it.
The idea pointed to a familiar NFL model. Pairing an experienced starter with a younger passer who may benefit from time, structure and observation before being asked to take over. For Pittsburgh, that concept is especially significant because the organization’s next step at quarterback will say as much about its long-range planning as it does about its confidence in the current roster.
1. Aaron Rodgers’ 2026 Decision Looms
McCourty said, “If [Aaron] Rodgers decides that he is going to come back, that is somebody for Ty Simpson to be able to learn from.” Rodgers has not yet publicly settled his 2026 future, and both ESPN and NFL reported that Steelers owner Art Rooney II expects clarity by the draft, even as Rodgers said in March there had been no deadline and no contract offer in front of him. Steelers owner Art Rooney II said he expected clarity from Rodgers by the draft, placing the organization on a public timeline as it prepares for one of the most important decisions of its offseason. Rodgers has not yet closed off any path, leaving Pittsburgh to prepare for multiple possibilities while the draft approaches. The franchise still does not have a final answer from its veteran quarterback.
2. New Head Coach Fuels Rodgers Reunion Hype Amid Steelers’ Aggressive Roster Overhaul
The quarterback uncertainty exists inside a much bigger transition. Mike Tomlin stepped down after the 2025 season, and the Steelers hired McCarthy as the 17th head coach in franchise history in January, ending one of the league’s longest periods of continuity on the sideline. That coaching change immediately made every quarterback development more consequential. McCarthy did little to quiet the Rodgers conversation when he said a reunion in Pittsburgh “would be a great story.” The two spent more than a decade together in Green Bay, so the remark added another layer to a situation that was already under national attention. It also reinforced that Pittsburgh’s head coach was comfortable with the idea of a veteran-led offense if Rodgers chose to continue. At the same time, the Steelers’ roster moves have pointed toward a team trying to push forward quickly. ESPN’s offseason tracker listed the trade for wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. and the additions of Rico Dowdle, Jamel Dean, Jaquan Brisker and Sebastian Joseph-Day among the club’s notable moves. Those are not the actions of an organization stepping back from the present. Within that roster picture, the quarterback issue becomes sharper. A team that has added veterans across multiple positions must decide whether it is entering 2026 with continuity under center, a developmental plan behind a returning starter, or a much wider opening than expected.
3. Is the Alabama QB the High-Risk Answer to the Steelers’ No. 21 Draft Dilemma?
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Simpson declared for the 2026 NFL Draft on January 8 after the strongest season of his college career. His resume has given evaluators enough material to keep him near the front of the second wave of quarterback discussion. NFL.com’s prospect profile lists him as a second-team All-SEC selection and a Manning Award finalist, markers that helped move him from a player-development story at Alabama into a real draft-season storyline. The case for Simpson is also shaped by how he reached this point. Rather than leaving for an easier path to immediate starting time earlier in his career, he stayed at Alabama and eventually delivered the season that put him on the board. That background has been part of the way several experts have framed him during the pre-draft process, especially when discussing maturity and readiness. His range, however, has not been described as fixed. Some recent coverage has presented Simpson as one of the more polarizing quarterbacks in the class, with projections stretching from late first round into the second depending on team need and board shape. That uncertainty is exactly what makes him relevant to clubs picking in the Steelers’ area rather than only to teams at the very top. For Pittsburgh, the fit in these discussions begins with slotting. The Steelers hold the No. 21 selection, which places them in the zone where quarterback value, urgency and developmental patience tend to collide. Simpson keeps appearing in that range because his profile matches the kind of prospect teams debate when they are not desperate enough to force a starter immediately but are not stable enough to ignore the future.