Paul Pierce favors Shedeur Sanders over Aaron Rodgers as Steelers’ "franchise QB"

Aaron Rodgers is still dithering over whether to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers or retire. But even if he is to sign, he will be the backup quarterback if Paul Pierce is to be asked.

The former NBA champion appeared on Friday's episode of FS1's SPEAK to give his thoughts on the AFC North runners-up's quarterback situation. When asked whom he would start, he explained why he was leaning towards Colorado prospect Shedeur Sanders over the multiple-time MVP (from 0:40):

"You get a fresh start with a fresh quarterback, and then you can say, hey, we finally got our quarterback for the future. Hopefully, he can be that - a foundation which the Pittsburgh Steelers haven't had since Ben Roethlisberger. I truly believe that this kid is going to be a franchise quarterback."

He also opined that the organization should abandon its pursuit of Rodgers (from 6:02) if they want to avoid feeling disappointed and regretful - just as the New York Jets did after their sole season with him under center:

"They had all the pieces. The defense a year ago was really good... They won seven games a year without him, and we figured he'd come in there and be the savior, get them to ten or eleven wins. That didn't work out. So why are we feeling like it could happen over here in Pittsburgh?"

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Insider: Steelers players also growing uneasy over Aaron Rodgers' dithering

But as it turns out, Steelers coaches, executives, and fans are not the only ones agitated at Aaron Rodgers' indecisiveness. Even his prospective teammates are getting restless, according to Tom Pelissero.

During Thursday's episode of Rich Eisen's eponymous show, the NFL Network insider, who was acting as guest host, said (begins at 0:59):

“Cam Heyward, who then proceeded to try and walk that back several times when he said, ‘Hey, you want to be a Steeler or you don’t.’ - that opinion, from everything I’ve been told, is not solely (his). There are other people who are just going, ‘What are we doing? We’re back for offseason workouts in like 10 days. We’re coming up on the draft. What is the plan?’”

So far, the only quarterbacks on the Steelers' roster are Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson. The franchise also holds the 21st overall pick in next week's Draft.