The offseason is in full swing, with rumors swirling about who the Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback will be in 2025. While it seems likely they’re going to bring back one of Russell Wilson or Justin Fields, they could choose to pivot. Aaron Rodgers is one name that’s continuing to come up as an option for the Steelers. With the New York Jets moving on from the veteran quarterback, Rodgers will be able to choose his next destination. However, reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala believes Rodgers is a bad fit for Pittsburgh.
“Aaron Rodgers is not the right fit in Pittsburgh,” Kinkhabwala said Thursday on CBS Sports HQ. “The Steelers know they need a different solution in terms of personality. That’s not the way you should expect them to go.”
Personality is one of Rodgers’ biggest issues. While he has declined on the field, he could still be a viable starting option with the right pieces around him. However, over the past few years, Rodgers’ attitude has been his biggest flaw. Different kinds of drama have followed him wherever he goes. The Steelers don’t need any more of those headaches.
“The Steelers need leadership on the offensive side of the ball,” Kinkhabwala said. “Aaron Rodgers, at the stage he’s in in his career, is not looking to be big brother to everybody.
“I feel like I’m sort of giving you a hint here, and I can’t tell the whole story, but we had a lot of conversations about Garrett Wilson and what he was openly saying to Garrett Wilson, and what he wasn’t. I think that people have a different appetite for being a mentor, for rallying a locker room, as they get older in their career versus what they just expect professionals to know.”
It seems like Kinkhabwala is implying that Rodgers doesn’t want to be a mentor at this point in his career, citing how he worked with Wilson, the Jets’ young, budding receiver. Rodgers seems focused on winning games and competing for a championship. While that might rub some people the wrong way, there’s nothing saying he has to be a teacher for younger players.
However, Kinkhabwala is correct that his attitude likely makes Rodgers a bad fit for the Steelers. One of the reasons they pursued Wilson last offseason season was because they wanted a veteran leader for their young offense. It makes less sense for them to go after a player older than Wilson who has less desire to help grow their offense.
Players don’t seem too thrilled about the idea of adding Rodgers, either. Things could change, but at this point, it looks highly unlikely that the Steelers would sign him. They’ll probably work to bring back Wilson or Fields first. If both of those options fail, maybe they’d consider Rodgers. That doesn’t seem like the best direction for their franchise, though, at least if Kinkhabwala’s reporting is to be believed.
