The Pittsburgh Steelers agreed to terms with QB Aaron Rodgers, and his addition could elevate the team’s ceiling. Appearing on 93.7 The Fan, Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said he believes the Steelers will win double-digit games with Rodgers, and he could see the team winning up to 12 games in 2025.
“They won 10 games with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields as their quarterback last year. I think he’s at least worth one more win, maybe two. So I think that this is now maybe an 11-win team, something along those lines. I don’t know that they’re good enough to unseat the Ravens, I don’t even know if they’re good enough to be the second wild card in this division, ’cause I think the Bengals, eventually they gotta figure it too,” Fittipaldo said. “So it’s a really tough conference and it’s a really tough division, but I think they’re now squarely a 10, if not 11-win team.”
Rodgers may not still be playing at an MVP level, but there’s little argument to be had that he’s an upgrade over what the Steelers have had recently at quarterback. While Wilson got off to a strong start last season after taking over in Week 7, the Steelers faded down the stretch and Wilson struggled during their five-game losing streak to end the season. Rodgers’ ability to use the middle of the field and his football IQ can help him do better than Wilson did last year.
The Steelers’ schedule is difficult, as is the AFC North, but if they do get to 10 wins, they should be a playoff team. Eleven or 12 wins would give them a real chance to win the division. The Steelers don’t want to waste a season with Cameron Heyward and T.J. Watt not getting any younger, and the team is always looking to win now. Rodgers gives them a chance to compete and look to make some noise in the playoffs, so even though he’s a bridge quarterback, it was a move the Steelers felt was worth making.
They’ll look good in making it if Rodgers can get them to that 10-win threshold that Fittipaldo predicts and especially if they can get a win in the postseason. There’s been a lot of negativity around whether Rodgers will work in Pittsburgh coming from the national media, but looking at the Steelers’ recent quarterback situations, it’s easy to see why they feel Rodgers can be an upgrade and why they signed him. After they didn’t re-sign Justin Fields, they felt he was the best option for them right now, and getting to 10 wins would help prove that he was.
