Since Ben Roethlisberger retired following the 2021 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers have shifted control of the offense back into the hands of their offensive coordinators. Even with a potential Hall of Famer last year in Russell Wilson, the Steelers were reportedly hesitant to give him full control at the line of scrimmage. According to one Steelers insider, don’t expect that same thing to happen with Aaron Rodgers.
“Do you think the playbook matters to Aaron Rodgers? Because I really do believe that it’s gonna be Aaron Rodgers’ playbook. He’s gonna call what he wants to call and that might be a little bit of a battle,” Mark Kaboly said via Kaboly and Mack on YouTube. “I wanna believe that Aaron Rodgers is gonna get a lot of carte blanche when it comes to this offense. What he wants to do and what he wants to call.”
Likely one of the big reasons that the Steelers didn’t want Wilson back for a second season were the leaks that got out about his relationship with OC Arthur Smith and the Steelers stripping him of his ability to check out of plays. I would have guessed a 12-year veteran at the time would’ve been afforded that freedom. Certainly with a 20-year veteran and one of the best players in NFL history, the Steelers wouldn’t take the same hard line on checking out of plays.
“That’s not flying here with old former No. 8, No. 12,” Kaboly said.
Rodgers visited Steelers’ facility in late March to meet with Mike Tomlin, Omar Khan, Arthur Smith and others. The meeting reportedly lasted five or six hours and was very positive on both sides. It’s entirely possible that both sides discussed their list of non-negotiables in a potential union, and it wouldn’t surprise anyone to learn that Rodgers wants significant control over the offense.
“I’ve heard rumblings of Rodgers wanting to call his own plays. I don’t know how true that is, so just keep that in the back of your mind more than a report or anything to that fact,” Kaboly said. “I mean he’s been in the league 20 years. He has four MVPs. You have to assume some of that was going to be that anyway.”
I always think back to when Pat Freiermuth let it slip on Ben Roethlisberger’s podcast that Kenny Pickett and the 2022 offense had no ability to check receivers into hot routes. Roethlisberger couldn’t believe that such a crucial part of a functioning offense was missing in Pittsburgh.
You want Arthur Smith to be able to do his job as the OC, but it would be foolish to miss out on leveraging 20 years of experience and one of the best football minds in the league. The Steelers can’t expect Rodgers to be okay with having limited autonomy at this stage of his career.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac reported in late March that Smith is “excited” to potentially work with Rodgers. Whatever they may have discussed during that late-March visit must not have scared either side away from working with each other. Though as I say that, Rodgers remains unsigned with voluntary OTAs beginning in just a few days. If he expects to call his own plays, his attendance at voluntary OTAs and mandatory minicamp becomes even more important.
If the Steelers truly want to contend this year, empowering a quarterback like Rodgers might not just be wise—it might be necessary.
