Things seem to be pointing toward Aaron Rodgers signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The deal isn’t done yet, but at this point, it seems like Pittsburgh is Rodgers’ only option if he wants to play in 2025. No other team has really shown as much interest in him as the Steelers. Rodgers was even recently seen throwing to DK Metcalf. Rodgers might give the Steelers their best option under center since Ben Roethlisberger. However, former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho doesn’t think signing Rodgers should excite Steelers fans.
“Viewers at home, I would temper my excitement because what are you getting excited for?” Acho said Tuesday on FS1’s The Facility. “I could be excited to have Aaron Rodgers over Mason Rudolph, but I can’t be excited to have a quarterback who’s 14-21 in his last three seasons.
“There’s no excitement there. I can’t be excited about a quarterback in Aaron Rodgers who only won five games last year. Right now, Aaron Rodgers’ name is bigger than his game.”
Acho may might not be wrong. Rodgers hasn’t really been the same player over the last few years. That doesn’t just include his tenure with the New York Jets. During his final year with the Green Bay Packers in 2022, he seemed to take a step back.
Tearing his Achilles in 2023 didn’t help, either. Rodgers is 41 years old, so he’s probably only got a few years left in the NFL. He’s past his prime. Since 2022, he’s thrown double-digit interceptions twice. Rodgers only did that two other times in the other 17 years of his career. The Steelers aren’t getting the same Rodgers who beat them in the Super Bowl.
However, he’s still a quality player. During the last stretch of the 2024 season, Rodgers looked more like himself. Perhaps another year removed from the Achilles injury will do him some good, too.
Acho doesn’t seem to think Rodgers would even be a substantial upgrade over Russell Wilson, though.
“If the Steelers would’ve signed Russell Wilson, they probably wouldn’t have been that excited,” he said. “But over the last three years, if you compare Russell Wilson to Aaron Rodgers, both have been a part of a couple different franchises, y’all tell me who’s better.
“Even if you want to still suggest that Aaron Rodgers is better just because you want to give him the benefit of the doubt, for whatever reason, clearly, he’s not substantially better.”
There are a few things wrong with what Acho is saying. First and foremost, Rodgers missed the entire 2023 season, save for one pass attempt. Of course, Wilson might have better statistics over the past few years, but his work during that time is still ugly.
Neither of them is the same player they once were. However, Rodgers looked better to end the 2024 season than Wilson. While Wilson was part of the reason why the Steelers lost their final five games, Rodgers looked like one of the best parts of the Jets’ roster. In a different environment, Rodgers might have been more successful.
Some of Rodgers’ downfall could be attributed to the major injury he suffered in 2023. Wilson hasn’t dealt with anything that bad. If Rodgers does sign with the Steelers, there should be a little excitement. They probably won’t win the Super Bowl in 2025, but there’s a decent chance that they win a playoff game. That’s more than they did with Wilson.
