Steelers Now
Vic Tafur of The Athletic did not hold back on the current state of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He thinks the Steelers have turned into an unserious organization.
“It’s not the sexiest storyline, but the Steelers are shooting for their 20th straight non-losing season, but this time without Mike Tomlin,” Tafur wrote. “Aaron Rodgers, 42, decided he wanted to come back, and the Steelers aren’t a serious organization, so they said sure.
“There is enough defensive talent here, and I really like the addition of Michael Pittman Jr., so congratulations to Pittsburgh. Nine wins and they’re irrelevant once again.”
Tafur is not the only one lukewarm on the Steelers this season. Former Steelers safety Ryan Clark expects them to be in the same spot in a year from now.
“The ceiling for this team is what we’ve been seeing for the last few years. This team can be slightly above average. Aaron Rodgers can get this team to nine wins or 10 wins, and maybe sneak into the playoffs or you’re fighting for a wild card,” Clark said on NFL Live last week. “Nobody expects this team to compete with the New England Patriots, the Buffalo Bills, the Denver Broncos, some of the top rosters in the AFC.”
A 9-8 or 10-7 record is certainly quite a bleak outlook, especially since the Steelers just finished atop the AFC North at 10-7 last season.
The Steelers have finished 10-7 in each of the last three seasons. They also got knocked out in the Wild Card round in each season.
The Steelers are currently on a nine-year playoff win drought. The longest for the franchise since pre-1972. The organization is hoping for things to turn around in Mike McCarthy‘s first year as the team’s head coach.
This offseason, Pittsburgh has traded for veteran wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., signed running back Rico Dowdle in free agency and added Alabama’s Germie Bernard in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Then on defense, the team signed veteran cornerback Jamel Dean, former second-round safety Jaquan Brisker and defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day.
However, Clark believes the Steelers’ inability to admit they have a quarterback problem is what has kept them in mediocrity and will continue to be until they find their answer at the position.
“The Steelers made a decision that they weren’t going to rebuild the last two years, they weren’t going to go to try and find their quarterback of the future. They’re gonna try to compete at whatever level that may be,” Clark continued. “I think that they can be competitive. I think that they can fight, be the second or third team in the AFC North and fight for that wild card, but again, will be home by the divisional round, thinking to themselves, ‘Are we stuck in quarterback purgatory or is our next guy in the draft in 2027?’”
Aaron Becker contributed.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: [Analyst Calls Out Steelers for Not Being Serious Organization: ‘Nine Wins...
