The Pittsburgh Steelers made a massive move on Wednesday, and no, they didn’t sign Aaron Rodgers. Pittsburgh struck a deal with the Cowboys to send star wide receiver George Pickens to Dallas for a third-round pick and a late-round pick swap.
Trading away Pickens may hurt the Steelers’ pursuit of Rodgers, as the wide receiver room is looking uninspiring outside of DK Metcalf. If Rodgers decides not to sign with Pittsburgh, Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox believes the team could shift their focus towards Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco.
“The Pittsburgh Steelers may also have interest in a veteran like Flacco if Aaron Rodgers doesn’t sign with them. The Browns might ask for a premium if they were to trade a quarterback to a division rival, though,” Knox wrote.
Flacco signed with the Browns a few weeks before the draft and was expected to compete for the starting role with Deshaun Watson’s availability for the 2025 season in question. However, with the selections of Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders in the draft, Flacco could become expendable.
Though Flacco has a ton of experience and won a Super Bowl as a starting quarterback in 2012, Pittsburgh should stay away from him. The 40-year-old is a nice backup who could fill in as a starter if needed, but he wouldn’t elevate the Steelers and would be a downgrade from Russell Wilson and Justin Fields.
If Pittsburgh wants to acquire Flacco to compete for the No.2 quarterback role with Mason Rudolph, then it would make some sense. However, there is no point in giving up draft capital for a signal-caller who likely won’t be on the roster in 2026. The Steelers shouldn’t think about Flacco as a possible quarterback solution this year.
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