There should be at least a couple veteran quarterbacks on the move this offseason, and maybe more with contract negotiations underway. Whoever ends up moving, the Pittsburgh Steelers could end up positioning themselves as the premier landing spot for veterans who are looking for a chance to win.
For 41-year-old QB Aaron Rodgers, the Steelers might be his only logical landing spot with the alternative being a possible retirement. According to SI.com’s Albert Breer, Rodgers seems to be planning on playing in 2025.
“Rodgers did tell [Darren] Mougey and [Aaron] Glenn that it was his tentative intention to play in 2025,” Breer wrote. “These things can change, of course, but Rodgers gave the Jets the impression that he had unfinished business to take care of.”
The Steelers might be the most attractive landing spot for Rodgers, but would they consider bringing him in? They overhauled the QB room last year by signing then 35-year-old Russell Wilson and trading for Justin Fields. It wouldn’t make much sense to continue to trend older at the position, but they could probably talk themselves into believing that Rodgers could elevate them beyond what Wilson offered a year ago. The Steelers are always in the business of winning now, which is how Wilson ended up starting over Fields last year.
Notably, P-G insider Ray Fittipaldo gave it a 99.9-percent chance that Rodgers does not end up with the Steelers in 2025. To be fair, most people were saying similar things about Wilson and Fields this time last year.
The future first-ballot Hall of Famer spent two seasons with the New York Jets with one of them being robbed from him by an Achilles tear. His grand return in 2024 fell flat with a 5-12 record. He completed 63 percent of his passes for 3,897 yards and 28 TDs to 11 INTs, but his adjusted net yards per passing attempt was even short of Wilson’s at a subpar 5.87. You could argue that there was more offensive talent around Rodgers in New York than there would be in Pittsburgh, too.
It seems unlikely that the Rooney family would sign off on bringing in a figure like Rodgers, who has a weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show and just had a docuseries aired about him. I’m not so sure Mike Tomlin would be into that circus, either.
Still, Breer believes the Steelers are the top destination for veteran QBs looking to win.
“The Steelers, to me, remain the most attractive destination for an older veteran quarterback like Matthew Stafford or Rodgers, given how many pieces are already in place, the history of the franchise and the presence of offensive coordinator Arthur Smith,” Breer wrote.
Rodgers would need to bend to the offensive game plan of Smith rather than running the same offense he’s been used to for essentially his entire career. For many of those reasons, I just don’t see it happening.
Mark Schlereth said similar via The Stinkin Truth Podcast on Thursday after speaking directly with Rodgers last month.
“Would Aaron play again? Yes,” Schlereth said. “…And then it was basically, ‘If I go somewhere else, it would have to be the perfect opportunity. But if I decide that the perfect opportunity doesn’t exist, I will fade off into the sunset and you will never hear from me again.’ ”
Could Rodgers’ NFL future come down to either Pittsburgh or retirement? Unless something else happens, like the Los Angeles Rams moving on from Stafford, there aren’t a ton of teams that would make sense to fit his criteria. I’m not 100-percent sold on the Steelers fitting his criteria, either.
