The NFL offseason is here, and while it’s easy to skip straight to the draft madness, another important roster-building event is even closer: free agency. Ahead of legal tampering opening on March 9, BTSC will be putting together lists of the top names at some of Pittsburgh’s main position groups of need in the upcoming class.
This time, we’ll be looking at the quarterbacks. The names are not listed in any particular order.
Daniel Jones, Colts
Jones is far and away the best quarterback set to hit free agency in 2026, but it will be a shock if he makes it that far. It feels like a near-guarantee that he’ll return to Indianapolis after Shane Steichen and co. revived his career in 2025. Jones still doesn’t look like a superstar at his position, but he was largely excellent operating the Colts’ offensive system last season, and the team’s playoff hopes died the moment he went down with a season-ending injury.
What could complicate things for Jones would be that injury — a torn Achilles in Week 14 while he was already playing through a fractured fibula. There are reports that he’ll be good to go by training camp, but Jones will have to recover before he can start building off his recent success. Last season, Jones passed for 3,101 yards, 19 touchdowns, and eight interceptions with 68% completion in 13 games. He’s 28.
Malik Willis, Packers
Of the quarterbacks who probably will hit the open market this offseason, Willis will likely have the most suitors. A draft darling in 2022, the Liberty product was eventually picked by the Tennessee Titans in the third round. In Tennessee, Willis never looked like a starting-caliber quarterback, but he started to show signs of development after being traded to a more competent offensive system in the Packers in 2024.
And across 98 offensive snaps backing up Jordan Love in 2025, Willis made a compelling case for a team to take a chance on him this offseason, passing for 422 yards with 85.7% completion, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. He took three sacks, but added 123 rushing yards on 22 attempts along with two more touchdowns and nine first downs on the ground.
A few things are true with Willis. With just six career starts, his NFL sample size remains miniscule. And despite looking exceptional in 2025 with the Packers, it wasn’t exactly high-level quarterbacking. He saw most of his snaps against the Ravens and Bears — hardly no-fly zones — in a “pared-back” offense with some missed reads in both games.
That said, the highs were exhilarating. Willis has plus athleticism for the position as a scrambler, regularly connected on deep throws, and his high completion percentage showed he can operate well when on schedule. He’s also just 26, and after spending all of his college starts at Liberty, there’s reason to expect him to be a late bloomer in the NFL.
If there’s anyone in this free agent quarterback class who could be a long term answer at quarterback for a team, it would be Willis. But there’s no denying he’d still be a high-risk, high-reward signing, and the bidding might get out of control in a weak year for quarterbacks.
Aaron Rodgers, Steelers
Rodgers’ section doesn’t need quite as much exposition — I’d image most readers on a Steelers website are already familiar with the quarterback he is at this stage in his career — but that still doesn’t make him a crystal clear evaluation in 2026. Rodgers had some clutch moments throughout 2025 and was the Steelers’ best quarterback since Ben Roethlisberger, but the now-42-year-old has for more limitations than he did as a perennial MVP candidate in his prime.
But again, it isn’t a great year for quarterbacks, and there’s an argument that Rodgers might give the Steelers the most bang for their buck, especially considering his familiarity with both Pittsburgh and new head coach Mike McCarthy. These days, Rodgers’ game is over-reliant on the quick game, and he’s lost much of his pocket presence and play extension ability, but his arm still has a surprising amount of juice. Rodgers passed for 3,322 yards, 24 touchdowns, and seven interceptions in 2025 with 65.7% completion.
Russell Wilson, Giants
Wilson deserves mention on this list, but the chances of him returning to Pittsburgh are minuscule at best. The Steelers moved on from Wilson following an ultimately disappointing 2024, leading the veteran quarterback to sign a one-year deal with the New York Giants for 2025. Wilson opened the season as the starter but was eventually overtaken by first-round rookie Jaxson Dart. That much was expected, but Wilson would finish 2025 as a third-string passer behind both Dart and Jameis Winston.
Wilson, 37, finished the season with 831 passing yards, three touchdowns, three interceptions, and 58% completion across 220 offensive snaps (three starts). His vintage “moon ball” can still threaten defenses downfield, but don’t expect Wilson to be getting any more starting gigs at this point in his career.
Marcus Mariota, Commanders
Mariota started eight games for the Commanders in 2025 as the result of an injury-plagued season for Jayden Daniels. Was he great? Not really. Mariota, 32, finished with a 2-6 record as a starter, with 1,695 passing yards, 10 touchdowns, seven interceptions, and 61.2% completions. He added 297 yards on the ground, including one more score and 12 first downs.
That said, Mariota was serviceable — even surprisingly competitive — at times in 2025, and he offers a bit more youth and athleticism than the rest of the veteran bridge starter crowd available in this year’s free agent class. Staying in Washington is a viable option for Mariota, but he could also cash in a modest contract with a team hoping to go the veteran-plus-rookie route at quarterback in 2026.
Joe Flacco, Bengals
Now 41 years old, Flacco just won’t go away in the NFL, putting together a successful career as a journeyman after his prime with the Ravens. After being traded from Cleveland to Cincinnati midway through the 2025 season, Flacco filled in admirably for an injured Joe Burrow, piloting a talented passing game that still finished top 10 in the NFL in yardage despite the turnover at quarterback.
Across 13 game appearances in 2025 (10 starts), Flacco logged 2,479 passing yards, 15 passing touchdowns, and 10 interceptions with 60.3% completion. Flacco is limited, like most passers his age, but his veteran savvy and general competence still stand out. He’ll likely once again be a high-end backup or bridge starter in 2026.
Jimmy Garoppolo, Rams
Garoppolo is still just 34, which is practically youthful compared to some of the other names on this list. Long the definition of a system quarterback, Garoppolo had a successful multi-year run with the San Francisco 49ers, but things fell apart once the 49ers moved on and he landed with the Raiders in 2023. Garoppolo was never much of a difference maker, and it showed outside of Kyle Shanahan’s system.
Garoppolo has spent the last two seasons as Matt Stafford’s backup on the Los Angeles Rams, last seeing game action in a respectable 334-yard, two-touchdown, one-interception game against the Seahawks in 2024 (65.9% completion). He still looks the part of a serviceable game manager when there’s a competent team around him.
With his Rams contract up, it’s unclear if Garoppolo will continue down the backup quarterback path, or start to take over as a low-end starter/bridge quarterback as some of the older journeymen at the position start to phase out of the NFL.
Zach Wilson, Dolphins
Reclamation projects at quarterback are all the rage in the NFL, meaning Wilson, who’s still 26, deserves a spot on this list even if the former No. 2 overall pick hasn’t looked the part for most of his career. Still, of the young, early round busts in this year’s free agent quarterback class (Trey Lance, Kenny Pickett, Hendon Hooker), I’d say I like Wilson the most.
Don’t get me wrong: Wilson’s accuracy is still erratic, and he’s struggled to read NFL defenses over his career. But there’s no denying his live arm — in his last season as a starter, 2023, he was still making handful of great throws from week to week. As Tua Tagovailoa’s backup on the Dolphins in 2025, Wilson played sparingly, with just 32 passing yards on the year. But most telling was how Miami opted to start rookie Quinn Ewers over Wilson once Tagovailoa was benched late in the season.
All that to say, don’t get your hopes up regarding Wilson. But if the contract is cheap, there are worse dart throws to make on a backup quarterback.
Other names
Wilson rounds out the list of “top” quarterbacks available in this year’s free agency cycle — unlike the wide receiver class, there wasn’t as much of delineation between the best available and the rest.
The other top names to monitor this offseason are largely quarterbacks who might not even be available via trade or free agency: Kirk Cousins, Mac Jones, and Jacoby Brissett all have some buzz but remain under contract with their current teams. But Cousins especially looks like a cut candidate.
Elsewhere, recognizable names such as Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky, Tyrod Taylor, and Trey Lance are also set to be free agents this offseason.
You can view Spotrac’s full list of upcoming free agent quarterbacks here. Remember that some can, and will, re-sign with their teams before legal tampering opens in March.
As for the Steelers, Rodgers and Skylar Thompson are the quarterbacks in the team’s 2026 free agent class.
What are your thoughts on this year’s free agent quarterback class? Should the Steelers pursue any names? Join the BTSC community and let us know in the comments!