The Pittsburgh Steelers‘ quarterback room looks dangerously bare heading into the 2025 NFL season. With Russell Wilson off to the New York Giants and Justin Fields now a Jet, Mike Tomlin finds himself with just Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson under center.
It’s not hard to see why the Steelers have entered full QB-evaluation mode. Reports suggest that Tomlin has entertained the idea of bringing in Aaron Rodgers for a year as a potential stopgap.
But even if that miracle materializes, the 41-year-old Rodgers isn’t a future-building block.
That urgency is driving a surge of quarterback visits to Pittsburgh. The latest prospect on Mike Tomlin‘s radar is Syracuse standout Kyle McCord.
“Steelers will visit today in Pittsburgh with Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders. Next week the Steelers also will host a visit for Syracuse QB Kyle McCord,” NFL insider Adam Schefter tweeted.
A day later, Stateoforange hyped the news even more by posting an Instagram photo of McCord in full Syracuse gear with a bold caption: “KYLE MCCORD WILL VISIT THE STEELERS.” Another slide teased, “Could Kyle McCord land in Pittsburgh?”
Now it’s official-McCord will visit the Steelers’ UPMC Rooney Sports Complex as part of the team’s pre-draft process.
McCord began his college career at Ohio State, posting 416 passing yards in his freshman season and 190 more as a sophomore. But it wasn’t until 2023 that he really broke out.
That year, McCord threw for 3,170 yards and 24 touchdowns, helping the Buckeyes start 11-0. However, a loss to Michigan piled on pressure, and after facing scrutiny from fans, he hit the transfer portal.
Instead of fading into obscurity, McCord found new life at Syracuse. The move paid off. In one season with the Orange, McCord erupted for 4,779 passing yards and 34 touchdowns, breaking the ACC single-season passing record. He posted 300+ yard games in 11 of 12 starts, smashed Ryan Nassib‘s single-game passing record with 482 yards against Northwestern, and became the program’s first-ever 4,000-yard passer after torching Miami for 380 yards.
Though he’s not a first-round prospect, McCord‘s development arc makes him an appealing Day 2 pick. A third-round selection by Pittsburgh, followed by a year learning behind a veteran such as Aaron Rodgers, could set McCord up to become the Steelers‘ next long-term QB solution.
Sanders’s candidacy
Of course, McCord isn’t the only signal caller Pittsburgh has its eye on. The franchise rolled out the red carpet for Shedeur Sanders earlier this week, bringing the Colorado product in for a full pre-draft visit on April 10.
After wrapping up his time in Pittsburgh, Sanders spoke to Kay Adams from the airport:
“I enjoyed my time here in Pittsburgh. I think I connected well with all the coaches and it was fun,” he said.
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