Steelers eye quarterback stability. Malik Willis, a dynamic free agent, flashes potential to ignite Pittsburgh's offense after limited NFL opportunities.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have been looking for a franchise quarterback since Ben Roethlisberger retired at the end of the 2021 season. Malik Willis has been looking for stability seemingly since he was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the third round of the 2022 draft.
Could the Steelers and Willis be a good match? Pittsburgh might be willing to find out, as it is expected to have interest in Willis as he gets set to become a free agent.
Willis has yet to gain his footing during his four seasons in the NFL. He has made just six starts, three with the Tennessee Titans as a rookie, and three with the Green Bay Packers over the last two seasons.
Willis started only one game last season, so it is admittedly a very small sample size. However, he had a very impressive performance on Dec. 27 in a loss to the Baltimore Ravens, completing 18 of 21 passes for 288 yards and one touchdown, and rushing for 60 yards and two TDs on nine carries.
Willis also shone a week earlier in an overtime loss to the Chicago Bears. He came off the bench to replace injured Jordan Love and was 9-of-11 passing for 121 yards and a TD.
Basing decisions on two games is not the wisest idea for an NFL team. However, Willis is just 26 and showed enough in limited action to make personnel evaluators believe he could take his game to another level.
Aaron Rodgers is the presumptive starting quarterback for the Steelers in 2026, though the 42-year-old hasn’t committed to playing for a 22nd season. However, Rodgers is expected to return, especially after Pittsburgh hired Mike McCarthy last month to replace Mike Tomlin as coach. McCarthy and Rodgers were together for 13 seasons with the Packers from 2006-18.
The other quarterbacks on the Steelers’ roster are journeyman Mason Rudolph and untested Will Howard. It is difficult to imagine either one leading Pittsburgh to an AFC North title the way Rodgers did last season, though Howard’s potential is intriguing.
That isn’t to say Willis would be the answer to the Steelers’ quarterback question for the next decade. Yet he is young enough and talented enough to pique the Steelers’ interest.
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