Could former No. 1 draft pick emerge as Steelers' eventual replacement for Aaron Rodgers?

Almost immediately after Aaron Rodgers of the Pittsburgh Steelers revealed on Tuesday that he is "pretty sure" he will retire from playing following the 2025 season, some predicted that the Steelers will almost certainly select a top-tier quarterback prospect in the 2026 NFL Draft. 

However, ESPN's Brooke Pryor noted that Pittsburgh could instead target a current pro next year. Specifically, Pryor named Kyler Murray of the Arizona Cardinals and Trevor Lawrence of the Jacksonville Jaguars as potential options for the Steelers. 

"Arizona's Kyler Murray will have two years and a club option on his current contract after the 2025 season," Pryor wrote. "His cap hits are significant -- $53.2M and $43.5M -- but they could be massaged and restructured. Jacksonville's Trevor Lawrence, who has one Pro Bowl berth since being drafted first overall in 2021, signed a five-year, $275M contract before the 2024 season, but he could be worth an inquiry."

Pryor may not have simply been throwing darts in mentioning those two signal-callers. Conor Orr of Sports Illustrated is among those who think Murray could play his final snaps for the Cardinals this coming season, in part because the 27-year-old's "dead cap number almost halves" following the 2025 campaign. 

Neither Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort nor head coach Jonathan Gannon was with Arizona when the club made Murray the first pick of the 2019 draft and when it signed him to a five-year contract extension reportedly worth $230.5M with $160M guaranteed in the summer of 2022. Meanwhile, Murray has thus far recorded zero career postseason wins.

As for Lawrence, he was unexpectedly linked with the Steelers for a short time this past winter. He endured a rough season after he inked his massive contract extension and is now working with Liam Coen, a head coach who only joined the Jaguars in January. It's far too early to say if Coen could give up on Lawrence after just one season, but the situation could be interesting to follow over the next six months. 

Steelers reporter Mike DeFabo of The Athletic pointed out that Pittsburgh is on track to possess 12 selections in next year's draft and, thus, could make a big move to grab an advertised elite quarterback prospect in the first round of the 2026 player-selection process. The Steelers also have 2025 sixth-round choice Will Howard, who should spend his first pro season learning from Rodgers. 

That said, there is at least some chance that Rodgers' eventual replacement isn't on the Pittsburgh roster today but will take in-game snaps with a different NFL franchise later this year.