With McCarthy comes the obvious storyline of Aaron Rodgers and whether the quarterback will return to Pittsburgh to reunite with his former coach, who he played under for 13 seasons in Green Bay and won a Super Bowl with during the 2010 season.
Rodgers reached no such heights with the Steelers in 2025, but he appears welcome to try a do-over if he chooses to keep playing. McCarthy mentioned at the Annual League Meeting last week that he is in regular contact with the four-time Most Valuable Player, and team owner Art Rooney II said he expects a decision ahead of the draft, which begins on April 23.
Warren, who was fourth on the Steelers with 40 receptions last year as one of Rodgers’ most trusty safety valves, would be glad to see Rodgers back. However, he’s choosing not to establish any expectations one way or the other.
“You know, I’m not really expecting anything,” Warren said. “Whatever happens, happens. I’m rocking with whoever’s at the quarterback position. But if he comes back, great. If he doesn’t, then we’ll miss him.”
Something else the Steelers miss — and must fix with or without Rodgers — is the presence of an imposing running game.
The Black and Gold, long known for turning opponents black and blue on the ground, finished 26th in rushing yards last season. Heading into Warren’s first season sans Tomlin, Pittsburgh replaced Kenneth Gainwell with Rico Dowdle, a much more bruising runner, to round out the backfield.
Warren told GMFB he “can’t wait to rock” with Dowdle, another former undrafted free agent, and although he didn’t have a definitive answer as to why the ground game was so suppressed in 2025, he expressed confidence the team can turn it around in the near future.
“It could be a lot of things. I wouldn’t point the finger at anyone,” Warren said. “Things just happened the way they happened. Moving forward, whatever the coaches have planned, I know we’re ready to execute it.”
Leave a Reply