Carson Wentz's wait might be over soon.
After spending the 2024 season backing up Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City, Wentz presently finds himself without a home as the summer approaches. The Chiefs opted not to bring Wentz back in 2025, instead turning to Gardner Minshew on a one-year deal to serve as their latest one-year insurance policy.
So far, it's been a slowly developing market for Wentz in free agency, but one long-tenured NFL insider thinks a new opportunity might be coming together in Pittsburgh.
Ed Bouchette, who has covered the Steelers since 1985 in some form, floated Wentz’s name on 93.7 The Fan this week as a potential fallback option. If Pittsburgh’s rumored interest in Aaron Rodgers doesn’t materialize, Bouchette sees Wentz as a viable candidate to round out the team's QB room.
It's not likely what Steelers fans want to see, but Carson Wentz might be an option there in Pittsburgh.
“I could see them signing a guy like Carson Wentz to be the backup,” Bouchette said. “Go with those three guys—Howard, Rudolph, and Wentz—and just muddle through this year. Regroup, and see what you can do next year for a quarterback.”
The Steelers’ current quarterback room doesn’t inspire long-term confidence. Mason Rudolph is back in the fold, and the team used a sixth-round pick this spring on former Ohio State quarterback Will Howard. It’s a group heavy on uncertainty and light on proven upside, which makes a veteran like Wentz a natural name to surface.
Wentz, 32, hasn’t started a full season since 2021, when his stint with the Indianapolis Colts ended in disappointment. Since then, he’s bounced between the Commanders and Chiefs, carving out a new identity as a reliable veteran presence behind the scenes. His time in Kansas City was quiet but professionally valuable, spending a full season with Andy Reid’s complex offense.
The Chiefs’ decision to pivot to Minshew for 2025 shouldn't cast too much of a shadow over Wentz, but with limited openings around the league, the former Eagles draft choice has had problems finding traction in free agency. Pittsburgh could offer the clearest path to a roster spot.
If Rodgers turns out to be a smoke without fire and the Steelers are truly prepared to “muddle through” the season, Wentz could represent a low-risk veteran option with something left in the tank. He's not going to recapture the heights of his 2017 MVP-caliber season, but in a quarterback landscape full of instability, names like Wentz tend to circle back around.
