{"id":42137,"date":"2025-04-19T02:09:13","date_gmt":"2025-04-19T02:09:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=42137"},"modified":"2025-04-19T02:09:13","modified_gmt":"2025-04-19T02:09:13","slug":"breaking-proposed-blockbuster-trade-ships-steelers-former-2nd-round-qb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=42137","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Proposed Blockbuster Trade Ships Steelers Former 2nd-Round QB.."},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption \">\n<div class=\"h-responsive\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive__inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2190302745-3.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2190302745-3.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2190302745-3.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/GettyImages-2190302745-3.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Mike Tomlin Will Levis\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" data-img-load-time=\"195\" data-dom-ready-time=\"655\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Getty<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-post-image-caption-text\">Bleacher Report&#8217;s Kristopher Knox proposed a hypothetical trade package that resulted in Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers landing Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Former second-round quarterback\u00a0Will Levis\u00a0competed with\u00a0Mason Rudolph\u00a0for the starting\u00a0Tennessee Titans\u00a0quarterback job last year. It\u2019s not off the table that they could compete against each other again, but this year, with the\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers.<\/p>\n<p>At least that\u2019s what\u00a0Bleacher Report\u2019s Kristopher Knox suggested\u00a0when he named five different hypothetical trade packages for Levis on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Knox proposed the Steelers trade a 2025 fourth-round pick (No. 123 overall) for Levis and a 2025 fifth-round choice (No. 167).<\/p>\n<div id=\"id\/article\/slide\/5187509\/element\/2\" class=\"MuiBox-root css-6emr8c\">\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium css-1vqr2el\">\u201cThe Pittsburgh Steelers could also potentially give Levis a starting opportunity in 2025, depending on how things unfold in the coming days,\u201d\u00a0wrote Knox.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"id\/article\/slide\/5187509\/element\/3\" class=\"MuiBox-root css-6emr8c\">\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium css-1vqr2el\">\u201cPittsburgh has shown interest in 41-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers but is still waiting on him to make a decision. Unfortunately for the Steelers, Rodgers is still mulling his options.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Knox argued that with\u00a0Aaron Rodgers\u00a0still making his choice for the 2025 season, the Steelers could look to add a quarterback in the 2025 draft. But that\u2019s easier said than done for Pittsburgh, which selects at No. 21 overall in the first round and doesn\u2019t possess a second-round pick.<\/p>\n<div id=\"id\/article\/slide\/5187509\/element\/6\" class=\"MuiBox-root css-6emr8c\">\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium css-1vqr2el\">\u201cIf prospects like Sanders and Dart aren\u2019t available at No. 21, they could view Levis as a viable alternative,\u201d\u00a0wrote Knox.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"id\/article\/slide\/5187509\/element\/7\" class=\"MuiBox-root css-6emr8c\">\n<p class=\"MuiTypography-root MuiTypography-bp_small__body__article__medium css-1vqr2el\">\u201cLevis\u2019 skill set could mesh with offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who found success with dual-threat quarterback Justin Fields early last season. Levis isn\u2019t nearly as dynamic of a runner as Fields is, but he can scramble well enough to keep defenses honest. His arm strength would also allow Pittsburgh to stretch the field with receivers George Pickens and DK Metcalf.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"id\/article\/slide\/5187509\/element\/8\" class=\"MuiBox-root css-6emr8c\">\n<hr \/>\n<h2>How Will Levis Could Fit With Steelers<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>As Knox explained, Levis isn\u2019t the same dual-threat quarterback as\u00a0Justin Fields. But Levis has the ability to move the chains with his legs when needed.\u00a0He rushed\u00a0for 183 yards, averaging 4.1 yards per carry, in 12 games last season.<\/p>\n<p>More important, he threw for 2,091 yards and 13 touchdowns with 12 interceptions. Levis averaged 6.9 yards per attempt during 2024.<\/p>\n<p>With the dynamic down-the-field threats the Steelers have in\u00a0George Pickens\u00a0and\u00a0D.K. Metcalf, though, that average would have a chance to go up in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Levis isn\u2019t an ideal addition for Pittsburgh. He hasn\u2019t lived up to his second-round hype and doesn\u2019t appear suited for a career as a starter.<\/p>\n<p>But if Rodgers doesn\u2019t sign, and the Steelers don\u2019t draft a quarterback, they are almost out of other options. General manager Omar Khan may have to execute some kind of quarterback trade just simply for depth.<\/p>\n<p>Rudolph and\u00a0Skylar Thompson\u00a0are the only quarterbacks currently on the Steelers roster.<\/p>\n<p>At least with Levis, Pittsburgh would receive a younger quarterback rather than one close to finishing his career like Rodgers or\u00a0Russell Wilson.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Why Levis Would Be a Tough Sell for Steelers Nation<\/h2>\n<p>A Pittsburgh trade for Levis could make sense if the Steelers strikeout with Rodgers and the draft. But that doesn\u2019t mean adding him won\u2019t be a tough sell to the fan base.<\/p>\n<p>If the Steelers trade for Levis, they will have acquired the top two quarterbacks from the worst team in the league last year.\u00a0The Titans posted a 3-14 record during 2024.<\/p>\n<p>Levis went 2-10 while Rudolph registered a 1-4 record. Levis owns a 5-16 record in his NFL career.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s a public relations nightmare. That will especially be the case if a Levis trade comes after Rodgers officials rejects the Steelers.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s clear the Steelers want to compete while continuing to search for their future franchise quarterback. That\u2019s why the team has signed Wilson and pursued Rodgers the past two offseason.<\/p>\n<p>A quarterback duo of Levis and Rudolph isn\u2019t one that\u2019s going to bring the Steelers another division title. It\u2019s much more likely the pair position Pittsburgh, like it did with Tennessee, in a spot to draft a quarterback early in the 2026 draft.<\/p>\n<p>Because of Pittsburgh\u2019s quarterback need and Levis\u2019 low price, a trade can\u2019t be ruled out. But the Steelers should have other backup plans besides another Titans quarterback.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty Bleacher Report&#8217;s Kristopher Knox proposed a hypothetical trade package that resulted in Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers landing Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis. Former second-round&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42143,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING: Proposed Blockbuster Trade Ships Steelers Former 2nd-Round QB.. - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=42137\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Proposed Blockbuster Trade Ships Steelers Former 2nd-Round QB.. - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Getty Bleacher Report&#8217;s Kristopher Knox proposed a hypothetical trade package that resulted in Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers landing Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis. 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