This offseason, things have looked bleak under center for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Everyone in their 2024 quarterback room left in free agency. In OTAs, Mason Rudolph has been their starting quarterback, but the team has spent months pursuing Aaron Rodgers. Now, the wait is finally over. Rodgers is reportedly scheduled to sign with the Steelers and participate in mandatory minicamp next week. Despite seemingly upgrading at quarterback, analyst Evan Cohen believes that Mike Tomlin will have his first losing season this year.
“I’m telling you right now, when I go to ESPN BET and I’m betting the over/under for the Pittsburgh Steelers this year, I’m gonna go on the under,” Coehn said Thursday via Unsportsmanlike Radio on Twitter. “I hate to say this because I love Mike Tomlin, and I’d want him to coach my team every single day of the week.
“This ends up being Mike Tomlin’s first losing season of his entire career. I just don’t see this working anymore, for whatever reason.”
Even with Rodgers, the Steelers probably aren’t going to be one of the best teams in the league. Their roster has other holes that could hold them back. Also, Rodgers is past his prime, and there’s no telling at what level he can still play.
However, the Steelers have scratched and clawed their way to non-losing seasons with poor quarterback play before. Tomlin has managed to continue his incredible streak with players like Devlin Hodges and Kenny Pickett under center. Rodgers is leagues above those kinds of players, even at this stage of his career.
Signing Rodgers could end up being a total disaster for Pittsburgh. He’s a controversial figure, and he’s been declining in recent years. There’s no guarantee that they’ll marginally better this year than they have been in recent years when they’ve been a fringe playoff team. Yet, there was a reason why the Steelers were willing to wait so long for Rodgers.
Toward the end of the 2024 season, Rodgers looked more like himself. While he still isn’t as good as he was with the Green Bay Packers, the Steelers have been dealing with below-average quarterback play since Ben Roethlisberger retired following the 2021 season. If Rodgers is even average, he should make Pittsburgh’s offense better.
The 2003 season was the last time that the Steelers finished with a losing record. Their streak predates Tomlin. While their team has changed immensely over the years, they’ve continued to avoid having a losing record. Could that happen this year with Rodgers under center? Yes, but it feels unlikely. The Steelers have done more with less at quarterback. It might not be smart to bet against Tomlin.
