To put it simply, the Pittsburgh Steelers need a quarterback for the 2025 season. Meanwhile, the New York Jets will not be bringing back Aaron Rodgers in 2025. Given that, it’s not hard to understand why some have thought of Rodgers and the Steelers as a potential pairing this offseason.
NFL Network’s Kyle Brandt is not one of those people. On Good Morning Football on Thursday, Brandt explained why a marriage between the two sides doesn’t make sense.
“Their owner comes out and says, ‘Well we’d like to keep either Russell Wilson or Justin Fields'”, Brandt said, referencing Art Rooney II’s comments from early in the offseason. “It’s not gonna be both. It might not be either. What are we going to do here? I don’t think it’s going to be Aaron Rodgers. That name’s out there too.”
Part of the reason some Steelers fans want to move on from Russell Wilson is his age. If that’s the thought process, then it’s hard to understand bringing in Rodgers. The veteran is now 41 and has more limitations to his game than he did earlier in his career.
With that said, calling Aaron Rodgers a bad quarterback would be a lie. He threw 28 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions in 2024 and had a passer rating of 90.5. Rodgers was still able to push the ball down the field, throwing for 229.2 yards per game. He won’t reach anything close to his MVP form again, but he can still make the necessary throws.
When considering Rodgers, one has to wonder about the locker room fit. Rodgers has much more of a personality than Steelers coach Mike Tomlin might like. That’s not the end of the world. Both have been in the league for multiple decades, so they know how to work things out. Still, complicating things was an Instagram comment from DeShon Elliott earlier this week, where he wasn’t excited about the idea of Rodgers coming to Pittsburgh, to say the least.
So, if not Pittsburgh, where does Rodgers take his talents? Instead of the NFL, Brandt thinks retirement could be a more attractive option for the quarterback.
“I’ve said this many times on record. I think Aaron Rodgers is going to walk away from the game,” Brandt said. “I think he has done 20 seasons, I think he is ready, I think it is time.”
This decision could be made by Rodgers, or it could be made by the rest of the NFL. Rodgers can still play well enough, but do enough teams see the upside? He’ll be 42 at the end of next season. As with any player at that age, he’s starting to decline. With potential questions as to how he’ll fit in various locker rooms, Rodgers might have less of a market this time around.
Also worth keeping in mind, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Thursday that Rodgers is likely to be a post-June 1 release.
Free agency is approaching, and the league’s QB carousel will eventually figure itself. Until then, get ready to hear about Aaron Rodgers a lot more.
