Steelers say drafting Allar not about Rodgers, it’s developmental

PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy said drafting Drew Allar Friday says nothing about Aaron Rodgers coming back or not, it’s just about adding young talent.

“No, not at all,” McCarthy said. “This is about developing the room and trying to make the room as deep as it possibly can.”

McCarthy then said he wasn’t going to go into hypotheticals about who might remain in the room, how it might shake out or about Rodgers.

“I will coach the hell out of that room,” McCarthy said Saturday after the 2026 NFL Draft. “I have a lot of confidence and history and experience. I will give everything I can to any quarterback in that room. We want to grow the quarterback room, we just don’t want to rely on one quarterback.”

The first-year Steelers head coach said this was discussed in his job interview from a philosophical standpoint. One of this staples was having a healthy quarterback room that they are always developing. He then re-emphasized ‘always developing’.

As for what he liked about former Penn State quarterback Drew Allar?

“I believe in first impressions,” McCarthy said. “I’ve had a chance to watch him play, meet him in the Combine. I like everything about him. I think he’s young and he’s got a lot of room for growth. He’s a young man that can throw the ball with the best of them and it’s a great starting point to have.”

He joked only the rules of the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement will make it difficult to develop two young quarterbacks at once. McCarthy then said he was ‘very impressed’ with second-year quarterback Will Howard’s on-field work last week.

If Rodgers says he wants to come back and assumes the role of the Steelers starter, Khan said they will figure it out.

“The one thing about this league is a natural attrition that happens,” Khan said. “Once you get into training camp and injuries happen and it sorts itself out. The League is setup that you have options and opportunities to keep your best players.”

Now half of the quarterback room has never played a snap in the NFL or even the preseason, two-thirds if Rodgers doesn’t return, but the Steelers brass is ok with that.

“We have a way a quarterback will be trained here,” McCarthy said. “I’ve done it a long time. It’s great to have two young guys I’m excited about.”