The Pittsburgh Steelers only have one quarterback under contract for the 2025 season (Skylar Thompson), but this will soon change. On the cusp of free agency, NFL analysts suggest general manager Omar Khan will look to get QB Justin Fields locked up to an extension. But selecting a quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft is also on the table.
At the NFL Combine, the Steelers met with quarterbacks Quinn Ewers (Texas), Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss), and Will Howard (Ohio State). Now the front office is scheduling highly-anticipated top-30 visits, and Louisville Cardinals’ Tyler Shough is one of the first names on the list.
On Thursday, Steelers Insider Ray Fittipaldo reported that the Steelers are hosting Shough for a facility visit, as well as two other prospects: Ole Miss DT JJ Pegues and WVU OL Wyatt Milum. Shough is particularly interesting.
Shough measured in at 6’5” and 219 pounds at the NFL Combine. In addition to having an eye-popping arm strength and velocity to drive the football, Shough also possesses quality athletic traits—showing off his 4.63 speed at the Combine and earning a 9.53 Relative Athletic Score.
Tyler Shough is a QB prospect in the 2025 draft class. He scored an unofficial 9.30 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 70 out of 989 QB from 1987 to 2025.
Splits projected, times unofficial.https://t.co/BBkFfHRJ13 pic.twitter.com/fxu7bE1c87
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 1, 2025
The drawback? Shough is old. And not just ‘well, he was a redshirt senior’ old. I’m talking old for an NFL prospect. The Louisville product is already 25 and will turn 26 just after the start of his rookie season.
Pittsburgh Steelers’ top-30 visit with Tyler Shough shows Mike Tomlin’s disregard for the future
This is just a top-30 visit. The Steelers have hardly etched Tyler Shough’s name in stone as a player they will select in the 2025 draft this April. However, Shough’s age suggests his window of opportunity to prove himself will be short.
Don’t get me wrong; Shough has tools worth betting on at the next level (he’s the anti-Kenny Pickett in this regard). Unfortunately, he’s even older than Pickett was when he entered the NFL as a first-round pick in 2022 (and that was a big turn-off to many talent evaluators).
While Shough could still wind up being a great player with a long NFL career, he could be on a short leash as a player the Steelers would expect to be pro-ready. After all, he was Justin Herbert’s teammate and backup quarterback for the Oregon Ducks from 2018-2019 (Shough’s first two seasons among seven years of college eligibility).
The problem is that, even if Shough ends up being a respectable QB, he will be going into his 30s by the time the Steelers are thinking about giving him a second contract. This is something Mike Tomlin will hardly care about. The long-time head coach is notorious for making win-now moves while showing little regard for the future.
If the Pittsburgh Steelers believe Tyler Shough is a franchise quarterback, you take him early in the 2025 NFL Draft. However, history would suggest Shough is already too late to the NFL stage to be the face of the franchise. His impressive skill set makes him worth a dart throw, but they can’t take a swing like this with an aging, injury-plagued quarterback any earlier than the third round.
