If you had your ear to the ground in Latrobe this week, you caught the QB room starting to get loud. No, not because of drama or some controversy. Just because of the way Arthur Smith talked about the fourth quarterback. And that’s the wrinkle. Because these words don’t just change one man’s preseason, they can ripple all the way up the depth chart. Consider this a heads-up for Aaron Rodgers.
Arthur Smith was asked if there’s a possibility of Skylar Thompson making it into the team. And he didn’t disregard the idea. “That’s a deep quarterback room,” Smith said, pointing out Thompson “started a playoff game not long ago, has logged real snaps with real stakes,” and has been “really sharp” in how he reads and stays on schedule. Yeah, Thompson is moving the needle. Now layer in the receipts.
Thompson really did start that Wild Card in Buffalo, throwing for 220 and a score in a 34–31 fight. And when Pittsburgh finally gave him snaps this month, Thompson kept cashing in. In the preseason opener at Jacksonville, he went 20-of-28 for 233 yards and three touchdowns. Pretty good for August. So what’s the “big shift” for Aaron Rodgers? Two things. First, Mike Tomlin’s already said Rodgers won’t touch the preseason field. So the live install reps are falling to the backups while the 41-year-old stays bubble-wrapped. And the Bucs‘ week will look just like that. Starters down, reserves up. More opportunities for Thompson to make his case.
Arthur Smith on Skylar Thompson maybe making the team: “Well, again, that’s a Mike and Omar [Khan] question. Just from the coaching standpoint with all those guys, that’s a deep quarterback room. Skylar’s a guy that started a playoff game a couple of years ago, and he’s played…
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) August 19, 2025
Second, Smith putting his stamp on Thompson is a tell: this offense is being built for whoever’s under center, not just the marquee vet. And that inevitably brushes up against Rodgers, whose first live shots don’t come until September. The official depth chart reads Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, Will Howard, and then Thompson. But the door’s now officially open.
And Aaron Rodgers’ backdrop matters. He’s locked in as the 2025 starter after a 2024 season spent proving he could handle the load again following that torn Achilles that erased his Jets debut. Whatever you think of “load management,” a deep QB room plus a bubble-wrapped vet is always going to shift August reps around. Thompson has the Bucs’ week and the last preseason game to make his case. On the other hand, Tomlin noted the sense of urgency.
Mike Tomlin’s warning raises the stakes
Yeah, it wasn’t directed at Thompson in particular. But to everyone who needs to prove themselves. Even Aaron Rodgers. “It’s important that we don’t waste days in transition being back in this environment,” Mike Tomlin exclaimed. “We’ve got a lot of work to do and obviously, the sands running through the hourglass in terms of team development, in terms of guys getting an opportunity to state a case for themselves, and for us to just develop the type of cohesion that’s necessary to get into the season. We’re working and working with urgency,” he said.
And as for Rodgers, it’s strategic. A hard camp tempo and an OC openly propping up QB4 make his preseason look like a choreographed ramp-up: skip the empty cameos, hammer situational installs, and prove the offense holds with different hands on the wheel. That’s been the story these last two weeks. Rodgers shelved, Rudolph taking the first snap, everyone else splitting.
It also heats up the battle underneath. Yes, he’s fourth in the ladder right now, but Thompson is within reach. If he keeps stacking clean, on-time reps, that could reshape the travel roster and the weekly inactive math; it can change everything. And even though Tomlin’s words weren’t directed towards the QB room, that’s where they hit the most. Tomlin wants to see that fight at the bottom.
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