In case you haven’t heard, the Pittsburgh Steelers need a quarterback.
With the future of Aaron Rodgers uncertain, Mason Rudolph and Will Howard are the only two quarterbacks under contract. This has led to many speculating on who the Steelers could bring in, with names such as Kyler Murray and Kirk Cousins being thrown around. ESPN’s Bill Barnwell has a name out of left field, though – Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Tanner McKee. However, the path he has the Steelers taking to acquire him will rub many the wrong way, as he says the Steelers should trade Nick Herbig for McKee.
“If you need a Tanner McKee and you knew someone who obsesses over edge rush talent, would you not call the Eagles and say, ‘Nick Herbig, Tanner McKee – two guys on rookie deals,’” Barnwell said on NFL Daily. “You get a cost control player for another year who had phenomenal pass rushing numbers, and we get our quarterback of the future.”
It’s an odd suggestion, to say the least, that the Steelers trade a clear building block of their future, and a guy who is their best edge rusher, in exchange for a player who has started precisely two games in his career.
McKee was drafted in the sixth round out of Stanford in the 2023 NFL Draft. Herbig finished the 2025 season with 7.5 sacks and 45 pressures.
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