Alabama's Jalen Milroe addresses Steelers rumors amid uncertainty about Aaron Rodgers

Numerous stories posted throughout the spring have suggested that Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin could want to grab Jalen Milroe during the 2025 NFL Draft so that the Alabama quarterback could improve his passing mechanics while learning from future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers and longtime backup Mason Rudolph. 

Milroe addressed the Steelers rumors during a recent chat with Bryan DeArdo of CBS Sports. 

"I'll be ready to go," Milroe said about possibly landing with the Steelers before April 26 wraps up. "Like you mentioned, the amount of pieces that they have, a head coach that understands the offensive scheme and is defensive-minded. ... Also, his winning experience. He's always had a winning record. That winning edge, winning spirit, the culture as well. There's definitely a lot of great pieces of being a Steeler. But of course, you know, I can't choose where I go, but when I did visit with them, they came out impressed by me as a person, and of course, an athlete and quarterback as well."

While Tomlin has never had a losing season since he started his Pittsburgh tenure in 2007, his teams haven't earned a single playoff win since the 2016 campaign. Most recently, the 2024 Steelers went from 10-3 to 10-7 before they fell in the wild-card round of the postseason tournament. 

Analysts and reporters have questioned if Milroe is a good fit for the scheme run by offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Some believe that certain individuals within the Steelers would prefer to take Ole Miss' Jaxson Dart instead of Milroe with the draft's 21st overall pick, but it's unknown how far Dart and Colorado's Shedeur Sanders will fall down the draft order. 

Pittsburgh may be hoping to get Sanders rather than Dart with choice No. 21.

Meanwhile, Milroe's draft stock allegedly began to slide before it was reported on Wednesday that the Steelers "have no idea whether or not Aaron Rodgers is gonna sign with them." On Thursday, Steelers reporter Mike DeFabo of The Athletic predicted that Pittsburgh won't draft Milroe even if he "is sitting there in the third round." 

Milroe seems to understand he may not see many first-choice reps during summer workouts, regardless of which team drafts him. 

"Despite anything," Milroe told DeArdo, "whenever I have a rep, it's all about maximizing that rep, no matter what it is. If I get all the reps or if I get two reps, any rep that I have is going to be about being the best version of myself. So, I'm not really necessarily looking at where I'm at on the depth chart. I'm just looking at earning the trust of the guys in the locker room and earning the respect of everyone there."

Milroe is a project for the future and likely wouldn't be ready to make even an emergency start for a team before September 2026 at the earliest. That reality could cause the Steelers to take a different quarterback in the draft if they head into April 24 believing they won't have Rodgers on the roster at any point this year.