Paul Pierce favors Shedeur Sanders over Aaron Rodgers as Steelers’ "franchise QB"
Aaron Rodgers is still deciding whether to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers or retire. But even if he does sign, he will be the backup quarterback, according to Paul Pierce.
The former NBA champion appeared on Friday's episode of FS1's SPEAK to give his thoughts on the Steelers' quarterback situation. When asked whom he would start, he said he was leaning towards Colorado prospect Shedeur Sanders over the multiple-time MVP (from 0:40):
"You get a fresh start with a fresh quarterback, and then you can say, hey, we finally got our quarterback for the future. Hopefully, he can be that - a foundation which the Pittsburgh Steelers haven't had since Ben Roethlisberger. I truly believe that this kid is going to be a franchise quarterback."
He also opined that the organization should abandon its pursuit of Rodgers to avoid feeling disappointed and regretful like the Jets last season.
"They had all the pieces. The defense a year ago was really good... They won seven games a year without him, and we figured he'd come in there and be the savior, get them to ten or eleven wins. That didn't work out. So why are we feeling like it could happen over here in Pittsburgh?"
Insider: Steelers players growing uneasy over Aaron Rodgers wait
As it turns out, Steelers coaches, executives, and fans are not the only ones agitated at the lack of clarity surrounding Aaron Rodgers. Even his prospective teammates are getting restless, according to Tom Pelissero.
During Thursday's episode of Rich Eisen's eponymous show, the NFL Network insider, who was acting as guest host, said (begins at 0:59):
“Cam Heyward, who then proceeded to try and walk that back several times when he said, ‘Hey, you want to be a Steeler or you don’t.’ - that opinion, from everything I’ve been told, is not solely (his). There are other people who are just going, ‘What are we doing? We’re back for offseason workouts in like 10 days. We’re coming up on the draft. What is the plan?’”
So far, the only quarterbacks on the Steelers' roster are Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson. The franchise holds the 21st pick in next week's draft.