Ex-NFL QB urges Sam Darnold to sign with Steelers following D.K. Metcalf’s $150,000,000 move to Pittsburgh

ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky suggested Sam Darnold should sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers following their trade for DK Metcalf. Orlovsky shared his thoughts on Monday's edition of ESPN's Get Up.

“If I was Sam Darnold, who's going into free agency, that would be the team that I want to go to,” Orlovsky said.

Orlovsky added that the first question he would ask if he was Darnold is if the Steelers plan to keep both wide receivers George Pickens and DK Metcalf on the same team. The Steelers traded for Metcalf for a 2025 second-round draft pick on Sunday. That led to questions about Pickens' future and Orlovsky explained he would want to know before signing with a free team.

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Metcalf will sign a five-year, $150 million contract extension with the Steelers.

Orlovsky thinks that if the Steelers keep both Pickens and Metcalf, Darnold would have an easier time in Pittsburgh than anywhere else.

“I think the second thing is, now that DK Metcalf is there, this offense has the chance to basically sit in a cover-two mindset all the time. If DK Metcalf and George Pickens are on the same field at the same time, teams are not going to play them one-on-one.

“So the run game is going to be a lot better in Pittsburgh, but if I was a quarterback, or if I was Sam Darnold, I would look at Pittsburgh number one.”

He explained why the Steelers make more sense than other teams, such as the Seattle Seahawks, who are also looking for a quarterback after trading away Geno Smith.

“If I were Sam Darnold, I would want to go there over Seattle right now unless he knows something with the additions that might happen in Seattle at wide receiver.”

Orlovsky also added that if Darnold and Pittsburgh do not end up together, he thinks the Steelers will end up with Aaron Rodgers.

Pittsburgh Steelers consider Sam Darnold, Aaron Rodgers and Justin Fields at quarterback

The Pittsburgh Steelers have the biggest hole to fill at quarterback as they enter free agency, with both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields set to become free agents.

Unlike other quarterback-needy teams like the Tennessee Titans and New York Giants, they also do not have a high draft pick to fix the problem through the draft. They pick 21st in the first round.

Their options include bringing either or both Wilson or Fields back or exploring the free-agent market for someone like Darnold or Rodgers.